Caretaker Energy Minister says he would accept a donation of Iranian fuel

BEIRUT — “I have agreed to obtaining Iranian fuel as part of a donation” to the Lebanese state from the Iranian government, caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad told the daily Al-Joumhouria on Friday.

Here’s what we know:

   • On Monday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah assured that he was ready to ship fuel from Iran “if the government gives the green light, ” deploring “the lack of political audacity” to approve such a measure, for fear of American sanctions.

   • Fayad was replying to Nasrallah’s proposal concerning "free" imports of Iranian fuel for the power stations.

   • Hezbollah had already imported Iranian fuel at the end of 2021, when the crisis and fuel shortages had reached their peak. These imports had raised fears of possible US sanctions against Lebanon, but ultimately those fears were not realized.

   • “I agree to get Iranian fuel as a free gift, I have no problem with that,” Fayad said. “No one can oppose it, especially when the Lebanese are threatened with total darkness,” he stated, concluding that “the proposal for Iranian fuel as part of a donation to the state has not been met with opposition locally.”