Early in the morning of 5 November, the 24th convoy of Iranian fuel reached Lebanon from Syria, bringing the total amount of fuel imported to the country by Hezbollah to 70 million liters.
الدفعة الرابعة والعشرون من #قافلة_الوعد_الصادق والتي تضم حوالي ٦٠ صهريجاً من المازوت الإيراني عبرت من سوريا الى لبنان، ليبلغ مجموع ما عبر، حوالي ٧٠ مليون ليتر…#شكراً_إيران#شكراً_سوريا pic.twitter.com/wHV1xwYTd7
— ثائر الدر ?? (@thaeraldorr) November 4, 2021
Since Hezbollah started bringing in the Iranian fuel from Syria in mid-September, many Lebanese have gathered to welcome the shipments, waving the yellow flags of Hezbollah and thanking the Iranian government for the shipment.
Many Lebanese social media users also thanked Iran for the assistance, using a hashtag that said “Thank you, Iran” in Arabic.
The convoys have come to Lebanon from the Syrian port of Baniyas in order to circumvent US sanctions.
After a year long fuel crisis in Lebanon, and after the US, France, and other western powers rejected Lebanon’s demand for help, Iran announced its readiness to send fuel to Lebanon despite the sanctions imposed on them by the White House.
Hezbollah welcomed the suggestion back in August, saying that businessmen affiliated with the group will pay Iran for the fuel.
Last month, the last two power plants operating in Lebanon were forced to shut down as the country finally ran out of its fuel reserves. Since then, Lebanese have been forced to rely entirely on privately owned generators for their energy needs.
On 8 October, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that the Islamic republic will continue to send fuel to Lebanon, stressing that the two countries will sign an agreement for that purpose.
The remarks were said during Amir Abdollahian’s visit to Lebanon.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, however, has said that the fuel shipments from Iran “breach Lebanon’s sovereignty.”
A cash-strapped Lebanese government grappling with months-long fuel shortages has reached out to Iraq to buy fuel, despite Iraqi fuel being unsuitable for Lebanese power plants.