Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah announced this morning (Thursday) that the first fuel tanker from Iran to Lebanon has left for the port of Beirut.
He stressed that in light of the cedar energy crisis, "there will be more ships and tankers coming from Iran, loaded with fuel and goods for the Lebanese people."
"We could no longer see the humiliation of our Lebanese brothers who stand in line for hours in the bakeries and the endless queues at gas stations, and the damage to the health system," Nasrallah explained his organization's appeal to Iran.
Nasrallah warned the United States and Israel not to try to attack the Iranian tanker, even though the organization did not receive any specific message or threat.
However, Hezbollah's secretary general stressed that "from the moment the tanker is in the water, it will be considered Lebanese land for us. I tell the Americans and Israelis - this is Lebanese land, be careful with your actions."
Nasrallah's announcement of aid from Iran has angered many of the organization's opponents in Lebanon, led by former Prime Minister Saad a-Din al-Hariri who wondered in a series of tweets on his Twitter account: "Since when has Lebanon become another Iranian province?"
In one of the tweets, al-Hariri wrote: "Nasrallah's declaration that the Iranian tanker and those who will follow it from Iran to Beirut are like Lebanese soil, is a blatant and unauthorized waiver of Lebanese sovereignty and an illegitimate call to treat Lebanon as an Iranian province.
"Hezbollah and its leadership are looking for a way to bring Lebanon into regional confrontation."
As a result of the attack on the Mercer Street ship owned by an Israeli businessman, it was reported earlier this month in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jarida that the United States, Britain and Russia had given Israel a "green light" to attack Iranian targets.
