America to Lebanon: It is forbidden to receive fuel aid from Iran!

According to Fars News Agency International Group, what the US Deputy Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, Barbara Leaf, said about Lebanon two days ago and said that “the Lebanese will have to endure more pain”, was soon shown and Washington He informed Najib Mikati, the Prime Minister, that his government has no right to accept fuel from Iran within the framework of the US sanctions.

This was something that Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, predicted this issue earlier in an interview with “Al-Mayadeen” network and said: “About oil, the problem is not ours, but the main problem is the Lebanese government. I am ready to import fuel from Iran, provided that the Lebanese government accepts this issue. But no one in Lebanon [از ترس فشارهای آمریکا] He does not dare to do this; Because he is afraid of American sanctions against his family. Today, Russian and Iranian companies may be ready to cooperate with Lebanon, but the government still lacks this courage.

The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, publishing the news of Washington’s strong opposition to receiving fuel aid from Iran, wrote: “In the recent speech of Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, in the description of the maritime border demarcation agreement that took place on the 29th of last October, he referred to the issue of Iran’s fuel aid. He pointed to Lebanon and said: “The Americans do not allow Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity to enter Lebanon, and tomorrow you will see what their position will be regarding the donation of fuel provided by the Islamic Republic of Iran to Lebanon. Soon this will also be clear.” became.” A few days after Nasrallah’s words, the United States officially informed Lebanon that it could not accept Iran’s gift because Iranian oil in any form exchanged, whether free or commercial, was subject to US sanctions. This was done according to the rules imposed by Washington on Tehran after the withdrawal of the United States from the Iran nuclear deal during the presidency of Donald Trump in 2018.

Meanwhile, informed sources told Al-Akhbar that last July, when Nasrallah announced Iran’s readiness to provide free fuel to Lebanon’s power plants, according to the agreement with the Lebanese government, the relevant officials contacted the American authorities and realized that the sanctions Gifts are not included as long as there is no cash or non-cash exchange. But later it became clear that this position was not official and apparently the Americans deliberately responded with a “two-sided” response so that this would not affect the negotiations on demarcating maritime borders with the Zionist regime. When the American mediator “Amos Hochstein” was asked about this, he did not give a decisive answer and informed the Minister of Energy “Walid Fayaz” to leave the matter to the Prime Minister because such a decision needs to be approved by the cabinet. Amri was praised by Dorothy Shea, the American ambassador in Beirut.

This newspaper wrote that Najib Mikati, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, apparently knew the truth of America’s position in this regard, but, like the Americans, adopted a “double-sided and ambiguous” position.

After receiving the answer and apologizing, once by emphasizing the need to ensure that this gift is free and once again by emphasizing the non-compliance of Iranian fuel with the specifications of Lebanese factories, he was forced to surrender under the pressure of a complete blackout, and the order to form a technical committee He issued Iran to travel to Tehran and research about fuel aid, but this was also accompanied by betting and throwing stones in this direction, and he demanded an increase in the amount of fuel aid in order to produce electricity for eight hours a day. Mikati also insisted on eliminating any political “suspicion” from the delegation that the Minister of Energy refused to chair. In all these stages, the Iranian side was aware of the predicament Lebanon was in and showed great readiness to cooperate.

According to this report, in the middle of last September, the Lebanese delegation traveled to Tehran and consulted with the Iranian authorities about the terms and nature of this fuel aid and the technical aspect and the nature of the mentioned fuel, and when they returned, they prepared a report and informed the official parties about the negotiations. informed about the memorandum of understanding with the Iranian side. This relationship between the two sides continued until the last week of last month, when the Iranian side sent a draft of the memorandum of understanding, during which it was emphasized that this fuel aid is done without taking any amount for it, and its purpose is to help Lebanon in facing the pressures. America is

Al-Akhbar continued: “Early this month, Fayaz presented the draft and its technical details to the Prime Minister to get his approval because it required a decision in the cabinet and was not a decision that the minister wanted to make. Until it became clear that Miqati made side contacts with the Americans, and he was informed by a legal office in the United States that the use of Iranian aid is also subject to sanctions, even if it is free.

Accordingly, it was also officially announced to the Prime Minister that he should write to the US Treasury to request the issuance of a special authorization for exemption from sanctions (similar to the authorization given to Iraq to buy Iranian fuel for power plants) and to allow Lebanon to receive this gift. receive without any sanctions. According to these sources, the lateral contacts confirm that the American side will not agree to exempting Lebanon from the sanctions, and that the United States still insists on exerting pressure on Lebanon in order to prevent it from getting help from Iran or Russia.

The problems in Lebanon due to the sanctions and disruptions of the United States have become so severe that even “Samir Geagea”, the head of the “Al-Quwat al-Lebananiyeh” party in Lebanon, last summer, demanded to agree to the proposal of the Secretary General of Hezbollah of Lebanon to accept Iran’s fuel aid and posted on his account on the network Twitter wrote: “I think that the Lebanese government should agree to Seyed Hassan Nasrallah’s proposal to bring Iranian fuel in order to set up energy production plants in the country.”

Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, announced last year in his speech on the occasion of the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS) after frequent power outages in this country and politicians’ failure to agree on the supply of fuel, that he had reached an agreement with the Iranian side on the import of fuel. Is. Hezbollah had announced that the price of fuel imported from Iran was paid by Lebanese businessmen.

Only hours after the announcement of this news, Lebanese President Michel Aoun announced the new US sabotage. He said that he received a phone call from Dorothy Shea, the American ambassador in Beirut, in which Shea informed the Lebanese president that the American government decided to import electricity from Jordan to Lebanon. The meaning of this promise, which has not been fulfilled so far, was to disrupt the import of fuel from Iran and prevent the increase in popularity of Hezbollah and Iran in Lebanon.

This action of the United States took place while this country had never made such a proposal during the year-long crisis in Lebanon and despite the country’s dire need for fuel, and according to experts, by making this proposal, it was actually looking for a new obstacle against the Lebanese people.

The promise of the Secretary General of Hezbollah was finally fulfilled and last year, Iranian fuel was imported to Lebanon, but after about a year, America’s promises about the import of electricity and gas to Lebanon have not been fulfilled, and its continuous violations have even increased inflation in Lebanon. fuel in Lebanon is faced with a daily price increase due to the financial, economic and political blockade imposed against the Lebanese nation and the decision of the government of this country to cancel the fuel subsidy.

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