Lebanon Risks Sanction Backlash As Hezbollah Secures Iranian Fuel

Ali Arouzi at NBC News tweets: "Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah says an Iranian fuel tanker will sail toward Lebanon "within hours," warning Israel and the United States not to intercept it. The delivery organized by Hezbollah, would be an apparent violation of U.S. sanctions imposed on Tehran."

• With Lebanon in a state of ongoing political and economic crisis, with rampant inflation and major fuel shortages, Hezbollah is ramping up efforts to essentially act as an 'alternative gov't' in the aftermath of last week's decision by the central bank (critically short of reserves) to reduce its funding for fuel imports, in effect ending subsidies and creating a run on the limited supply of gasoline.
• The Lebanese parliament meets tomorrow to discuss the fuel crisis, which has seen power blackouts shut down hospitals and bakeries, and violent attacks on petrol stations in an effort to secure fuel supplies with 28 killed earlier this week in a tanker explosion as people rushed to secure gasoline.
• With Lebanese politicians having failed to form a stable gov't since the collapse of the Diab gov't in 2020 in the wake of the Beirut Port explosion, Hezbollah is increasingly looking to step into the shoes of the gov't in providing services usually rendered by the state.
• For Iran, a more influential Hezbollah in Lebanon provides a critical power base in advancing its regional aims of restricting Israeli influence in the Middle East.