Tehran warns US against blocking Iranian fuel shipments to Lebanon

The US is in no position to block Iran’s legitimate trade with other countries, says Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh, referring to Iranian fuel shipments to Lebanon as the Mediterranean country suffers from ongoing shortages amid American sanctions.

“The US is not in a position to block legitimate trade. We are very serious about exercising our sovereignty and everyone should know that legitimate trade in this sphere is one of the basic principles of international law,” Khatibzadeh said during a virtual press conference on Monday.

Two weeks ago, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement, announced that a ship carrying Iranian fuel was about to set sail for Lebanon, warning that the vessel and the tankers subsequently carrying Iranian fuel would be regarded as “Lebanese territory”.

Just a few hours after Nasrallah’s announcement, US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea claimed that the Biden administration would help Lebanon get Egyptian gas.

The Hezbollah leader later said the first tanker was already on its way to Lebanon, promising that more ships would follow despite US opposition, and deriding Shea’s plan as an act of “selling illusions to the Lebanese.”

During his press conference last week, Khatibzadeh voiced Iran’s readiness to sell fuel to the Lebanese government in addition to the country's businessmen.

The sales will continue as long as Iran has a customer in Lebanon and there is demand for fuel there, he said.

Making a reference to plans to provide Lebanon with fuel from other countries, the Iranian spokesman said other producers should not hesitate if they can alleviate the suffering of the Lebanese people.

“Neither the US nor any other country is above law to stop the legitimate trade” between Iran and Lebanon, he reiterated, adding that the sale is a decision made by the Iranian establishment.

ME