Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has announced that more Iranian ships filled with fuel are already sailing towards Lebanon in order to help ease gasoline shortages after a first such vessel arrived in the country. Nasrallah assured that Hezbollah is not trying to meddle in the country's domestic affairs this way.
"We are not taking the place of the state, nor are we an alternative to companies that import fuel", Nasrallah said in a speech.
Nasrallah first announced the start of Iranian fuel shipments to Lebanon on 19 August, justifying it by the need to deal with gasoline shortages that had already caused deadly infighting within the country. The announcement, however, sparked concerns among Hezbollah's domestic political opponents, who alleged that it could bring down American sanctions onto Lebanon's already devastated economy due to Washington imposing such measures on Iranian oil trade.
Lebanon's economy has been in shambles for the last two years, sparking a political crisis that remains unresolved to this day, as well as the resignation of several governments and widespread shortages and unrest. The situation worsened last year with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and a devastating blast in one of the few remaining functioning economic centres of the country, Beirut's port.
The country has still not recovered from the multitude of woes it has faced over the last two years, and there has so far been no indication of an upcoming change for the better.