This crisis got worse, on the verge of reaching a point where hospitals, shops, bakeries, etc. cannot function because of a lack of fuel. Lebanon was heading towards the unknown.
Hezbollah devised a plan to alleviate the crisis, while preventing any foreign interference or trouble for Lebanon.
After careful consideration, Secretary General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah and other high ranking officials in the movement decided to purchase oil from the Islamic Republic of Iran and bring the oil tankers to Lebanon itself.
Hezbollah chief said, after being told of possible sanctions or other measures by the United States that could hurt the government if the tankers docked in Lebanon; it decided to dock the first vessel in neighboring Syria and take the cargo by land across Lebanese-Syrian border crossing.
Nasrallah extended his gratitude to the Syrian government for helping coordinate the logistics of importing this vital commodity. He thanked the Syrian government for understanding the situation of Lebanon and the dangers of Lebanese and Syrian enemies in trying to harm Damascus for the assistance it provided.
The vessel was expected to dock at Syrian seaport by Sunday and the process of unloading and dispatching fuel to Lebanon was has to be completed by Thursday. Hezbollah said, this is the first of many ships to bring oil from Iran to Lebanon.
According to Nasrallah, the negative statements were the following and he noted how they ended up in dustbin of history.
One: The announcement of importing oil from Iran was just a stunt. However, the oil has arrived.
Two: Those who said the operation will fail because Iran itself has problems exporting gasoline and diesel.
Three: Those who stated Israel will prevent the tanker from reaching Lebanon or Syria, especially because Hezbollah announced the move publicly on the day of Ashura. It wasn’t a secret operation.
Nasrallah believes it's unfortunate that some had hoped Israel would prevent the ship from reaching Lebanon.
He highlighted that the 2006 war which created a security equation with Israel is what prevented the regime from stopping the fuel from arriving. This is despite the fact that Tel Aviv is very well aware the arrival of the fuel would increase Hezbollah’s popularity even more, something Israel has, for decades, tried to prevent.
Four: Those who said America will prevent this operation. Nasrallah noted the US knew any action would lead to a reaction “from a certain party”.
The Hezbollah chief said, the US only knows sanctions, tried to pressure Lebanese officials and when that did not work, the US embassy in Beirut presented an alternative plan.
The US plan had already been widely ridiculed among Lebanese commentators and analysts.
Those who said the import of oil would cause problems for the new government and this never happened.
Five: Finally, those who said this was a sectarian move and the energy would only be distributed to Hezbollah strongholds in Southern Lebanon. Nasrallah said, oil would be sent to every region of Lebanon.
In the upcoming days, the second ship will dock in Syria and will also contain diesel.
A third ship has been loaded with gasoline and the paperwork has been completed for it to sail. The fourth tanker will contain diesel.
The fourth ship will contain diesel because it will arrive at a time when some areas of Lebanon get cold and more diesel is needed than gasoline.
The Hezbollah chief reiterated the movement is not after trade and profit or competing with energy companies. The initiative is simply adding to a product short in supply.
Nasrallah studied the distribution process from a humanitarian point of view and came up with the following.
A months’ worth of supply will be offered, free of charge, to government-run hospitals, centers that care for the elderly and vulnerable, every facility that cares for orphans, water facilities in poorer provinces, fire stations, the Lebanese Red Cross.
The reality of this humanitarian mission cannot be emphasized enough when Hezbollah says it is offering the diesel to the above free of charge.
The second list will be sold, but also in terms of priority, to those that need the energy most and at a reasonable price whereby other energy supplier’s businesses are not affected.
Private hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturers, mills, bakeries selling bread, companies purchasing, storing and selling vital food products, food manufacturers, and agricultural companies remain top priority. Among those also considered high-priority, that will be offered the diesel, are electricity companies who provide generators to help people with power outages.
According to the Hezbollah Chief, the oil will not be sold to individuals, but he did leave this door open when the suffering among the priority lists is gone.
A Lebanese company has been chosen to assist and Hezbollah says this company has been chosen because it is suffering under US sanctions.
Nasrallah added this commodity is for all Lebanese, regardless of faith or political allegiance. It will be sent to every province in the country.
Every effort will be done to prevent the oil from entering the black market “because the black market has already profited significantly”.
Hezbollah says this operation will hopefully break the black market, which is selling oil at unreasonable prices and hurting ordinary Lebanese waiting in line for hours.
Hezbollah said, it will not consider the import costs of the oil tankers when it sells the oil. The movement says it will bear responsibility for these costs and says it doesn’t want to make a profit.
The Hezbollah Chief said, the movement wants this initiative to be considered as a gift to Lebanese people from the Islamic Republic of Iran and from Hezbollah.
Nasrallah said, Hezbollah won’t use the dollar to sell any of the oil imports. Any fuel sold will be done using the Lebanese Lira.
Hezbollah could have imported a flotilla of oil tankers and not begin with one ship. He pointed out this would have led to extensive media speculation about the whereabouts of the ships and when they will arrive; something that would have boosted Hezbollah’s popularity.
The Hezbollah chief said, “We could have done that with the first tanker”. However, the moment chose to keep a low profile because it didn’t want to frighten the Lebanese people, especially when there are officials and enemies scaremongering the public.
Hezbollah’s goal is easing the suffering of the people, serving the Lebanese nothing more, nothing less.
