The first of five fuel shipments coming from Iran entered Lebanon by land Thursday morning.
Iranian diesel fuel, imported by Hezbollah, entered Lebanon via Syria after having been loaded onto fuel trucks from Iranian ships docked at the Syrian Banyas Port.
The trucks made their way to Lebanon through the Banyas border crossing in the northern Beqaa region.
The first fleet is comprised of 20 trucks, each reportedly containing 50,000 liters of diesel fuel, which amounts to 1 million liters of diesel fuel in total.
Hezbollah had previously announced that the Amana gas station chain would be responsible for storing and distributing the Iranian fuel to interested institutions. Amana Fuel Co. is currently on the United States sanctions list.
The remaining fleets – also 20 trucks each – will cross through Syria successively following the first, according to Al-Jadeed.
The arrival of the fuel comes a month after Hezbollah announced that it would import fuel from Iran, a country sanctioned by the United States.
The announcement sparked fears that the U.S. might consequently impose sanctions on Lebanon for importing fuel from a sanctioned nation without an exemption.
Hezbollah recently said that the fuel ships would dock in Syria – also a sanctioned country – and unload there before being transported by land, to avoid sanctions on Lebanon.
In light of the tankers’ entry to Lebanon, many Venezuelans are warning against the usage of Iranian oil following the introduction of Iranian oil to the Venezuelan market last year. Many reported increasingly deteriorating quality from the shipments.
One person shared his experience of having to replace parts in his car multiple times as a result.
Some had to add products to the fuel to improve combustion.
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