Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Iranian fuel shipments imported by the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement constitute a breach of Lebanon’s sovereignty, according to comments published by his office.
“The violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty makes me sad,” Mikati told CNN in an interview, his office said in a posting on Twitter.
Mikati added that the #Lebanese government did not order the fuel shipment and therefore will not be subject to US sanctions https://t.co/d3UjrEEcqH
— Mostafa Salem (@Mostafasalem8) September 18, 2021
He added: “But I’m not concerned that sanctions can be imposed” on Lebanon “because the operation was carried out without the involvement of the Lebanese government.”
The Lebanese militant group on Thursday began bringing tanker trucks carrying fuel from Iran, a move it says should ease a crippling energy crisis in Lebanon. A tanker ship carried the fuel to Syria and from there it crossed into Lebanon. Both Syria and Iran are under US sanctions.
Late on Friday, the Lebanese broadcaster LBCI said that a new group of tankers carrying Iranian fuel entered Lebanon through the Hermel area.
Hermel is at the northern end of the Bekaa Valley, an area populated mainly by Shia Muslims from whom Hezbollah draws its support
The United States announced Friday sanctions on business networks in Lebanon and Kuwait that funded Hezbollah. It also targeted financial facilitators and front companies that support the group and Iran.
“Together, these networks have laundered tens of millions of dollars through regional financial systems and conducted currency exchange operations and trade in gold and electronics for the benefit of both Hezbollah and the IRGC-QF,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, referring to Iran’s Quds force, the arm of its Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) that controls its allied militia abroad.
“Hezbollah uses revenues generated by these networks to fund terrorist activities and to perpetuate instability in Lebanon and throughout the region,” the statement said.
PM Mikati: Importation of Iranian fuel shipment violates Lebanon’s sovereignty https://t.co/7kKLaTScaC
— GK4U (@KalaUsdadia) September 17, 2021
Blinken said Hezbollah was increasingly looking for additional sources of revenue to bolster its coffers and he called on governments around the world to take steps to ensure it and other terrorist groups do not exploit their territory and financial institutions.
“The United States will not relent in targeting these networks, and we will continue to take actions to disrupt their activities,” he said.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
