Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah suggested that the next Lebanese government pursue drilling for oil and gas off of Lebanon’s coast, stressing that Hezbollah could bring an Iranian company to drill, if necessary, during a speech on Sunday.
The Hezbollah leader offered to help drill for oil and gas in the waters of Lebanon’s coast, saying that if no companies are willing to do so due to fears of US sanctions or Israeli strikes, the terrorist group could bring an Iranian company to drill. Nasrallah added that drilling for oil and gas in Lebanon’s waters would rid the country of the need to import fuel.
Israel and Lebanon have been conducting US-mediated negotiations concerning their maritime border in the past year. The border dispute is about a triangular area of the Mediterranean Sea that starts at the countries’ land border, and is 5-6 km. wide on average. The area constitutes about 2% of Israel’s economic waters.
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The countries hope that settling the border would encourage further gas exploration in the area.
Nasrallah also announced on Sunday that a first shipment of Iranian oil was on its way to Lebanon and that a second ship would set sail within the next few days. Nasrallah promised that more ships would follow.
“Our goal is to break the black market and monopoly and alleviate people’s suffering,” said Nasrallah.
The Hezbollah leader stressed that the group is “not a substitute for the state, importing companies, or stations” and does not want to compete with anyone.
“What we will bring is for Lebanon and for all the Lebanese, not for Hezbollah, the Shi’ites, or one region without the other. The goal is to help all the Lebanese and all the Lebanese regions, not to help one group without another group,” said Nasrallah.
On Thursday, Nasrallah had warned Israel and the US that “from the moment the Iranian ship sails, [Hezbollah] will consider it Lebanese territory.” The first ship, he said, would carry diesel fuel since that is currently the top priority.
A crew member raises the Iranian flag on Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1, as it sits anchored after the Supreme Court of the British territory lifted its detention order, in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain, August 18, 2019. (credit: JON NAZCA/ REUTERS)The Hezbollah leader warned against challenging his organization on the matter, saying the issue has “become linked to the pride of our people, and we refuse to humiliate this people.”
Nasrallah has warned on multiple occasions that Hezbollah would import Iranian oil on its own if the Lebanese government did not. Iranian oil is subsumed under international sanctions. Such a move could bring Iranian fuel tankers close to Israel’s shores.
After the speech on Thursday, Hezbollah supporters shared a photo on social media showing an oil tanker with an Iranian flag with the outline of a bomb around it breaking through the word “USA.”
2006 انظروا اليها تحترق
2021 انظروا اليها تنطلق✌#يا_مذلّ_الكافرين#يا_مُعزّ_المؤمنين pic.twitter.com/I4j9dQBTIf
— Mohammed Hamzeh (@AbouBatouL7) August 19, 2021
Nasrallah’s announcement comes as tensions run high between Israel and Iran after a series of Iranian attacks against commercial vessels, including an Iranian drone strike against the Israeli-managed Mercer Street tanker off the coast of Oman in July, killing a British and Romanian citizen.
In March, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had attacked a dozen Iranian oil tankers headed for Syria. Hezbollah-affiliated operative Ali Shoeib tweeted last week that there was now a new equation with Israel: “a tank for a tank,” an apparent warning to Israel not to attack tankers carrying Iranian oil to Lebanon.
Referencing the riots which took place along the border with Gaza Strip on Saturday, Nasrallah stated that the scene of the Israeli soldier being shot by a Palestinian terrorist “should go down in history.”
Nasrallah blamed the US for the country’s economic crisis and for targeting Hezbollah, saying that the Americans want to push the country into chaos and are trying to force Lebanon into normalization with Israel.
“There is no such thing as international sanctions on Iran, only US sanctions, but unfortunately some Lebanese officials fear America more than they fear God,” said Nasrallah. “There are people who are ready to put Lebanon in danger so that they will not be subjected to sanctions or that one of their family members will be subjected to sanctions.”
Nasrallah referenced plans by the US to provide Egyptian natural gas to Jordan in order to generate electricity that would be transmitted to Lebanon via Syria, saying that “the American ambassador is selling us illusions, but if they are realized, we will not be disturbed, because this means the siege will be broken.”
The Hezbollah leader warned that such projects needed to be negotiated with Syria and could not be accomplished “under the cover of darkness.”
Lahav Harkov contributed to this report.
