Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that it is prepared to ship more fuel to Lebanon if needed.
“We sell our oil and its products based on our own decisions and the needs of our friend. Iran is ready to send fuel again to Lebanon if needed. Certainly, we cannot see the suffering of the Lebanese people,” he said, according to Reuters.
“We announce our readiness to sell fuel to the Lebanese government, in addition to the fuel purchased by the Lebanese Shi’ite businessmen, if the Lebanese government is willing,” said Khatibzadeh.
The announcement came a day after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said more Iranian fuel vessels could help the country deal with shortages. Nasrallah had warned Israel and the United States against interfering with an oil tanker that was set to leave Iran for Lebanon on Thursday.
Lebanon is in the grips of an economic and political crisis; still, Hezbollah’s opponents say that such shipments would violate U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil exports and put the country at risk for sanctions, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Iran restarted gasoline and oil exports to Afghanistan in recent days after a request from the Taliban, said Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union on Monday, reported Reuters.
