Hezbollah seeking to import oil to save Lebanon

Lebanon is on the verge of final collapse if it fails to import energy sources. Electricité du Liban is no longer able to provide more than two hours of power per day. Those who have generators can no longer operate them for lack of fuel oil. Little by little, all the factories are closing down and soon hospitals will be next. Residents attack petrol stations, which are invariably almost empty.

Faced with this disaster, the state cannot react in the absence of a government. Meanwhile, everyone is doing what they can to find a solution. Shia businessmen, members of Hezbollah, bought fuel oil in Iran. Hassan Nasrallah announced that it was arriving on a ship which has already left Iran.

However, this initiative - the only one capable of saving the country for the time being - violates international sanctions against Iran and is likely to also violate Lebanese import duty laws. Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri (Future Movement Party) decried the initiative as dangerous, while Samir Geagea (Lebanese Forces) denounced a Hezbollah power grab.