BEIRUT (Reuters) – The leader of Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, Hassan Nasrallah, said on Sunday that vessels carrying Iranian fuel will be heading to Lebanon soon followed by others to ease fuel shortages.
Nasrallah said the group was not taking the place of the state by purchasing the fuel. The first vessel will be leaving Iran for Lebanon on Sunday, to be followed by others thereafter, he said.
Hezbollah’s foes in Lebanon have warned of dire consequences from the move, saying it risked sanctions being imposed on a country whose economy has been in meltdown for nearly two years.
The arrival of the Iranian fuel would mark a new phase in the financial crisis which the Lebanese state and its ruling factions, including Hezbollah, have failed to tackle even as fuel has run dry and shortages have prompted deadly violence.
(Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
