4 US Senators warned Iranian Fuel Shipments violating US Sanctions

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On Wednesday, a delegation of 4-US senators said America is looking to help Lebanon overcome fuel shortages that have paralyzed the country. They also warned the import of Iranian oil into the crisis-hit country could have severely damaging consequences. The Democratic senators pushed for the immediate formation of a Lebanese government that can start urgent reforms. They also vowed support for Lebanon’s US-backed army. The troops saw their salaries lose more than 90% of their value amid a crash in Lebanon’s pound in the economic meltdown that started nearly 2-years ago. Sen. Chris Murphy said, “It is inexcusable that in the middle of this life-threatening crisis, the political leaders in Lebanon have refused to make the tough choices in order to form a government”.

Murphy said Lebanon needs a government that can negotiate with the International Monetary Fund and starts reforms to reduce corruption that is widespread in the Mediterranean nation. The American legislators met with Lebanon’s president, parliament speaker, and prime minister-designate. They said that they received promises to form a new government before the end of the week. Their visit to Lebanon took place 2-weeks after the leader of the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group said that an Iranian fuel tanker has sailed toward Lebanon and that others will follow to help ease the fuel shortages. The delivery, organized by Hezbollah, would violate US sanctions imposed on Tehran. The former President Donald Trump pulled America out of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in 2018.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal blasted Hezbollah as a malignant cancerous terrorist organization. He said they have heard very troublingly about maligned Iranian influence particularly in providing fuel. Blumenthal added that there is no reason for Lebanon to depend on Iran because there are plenty of other sources of fuel without the potential severely damaging consequences of reliance on Iranian oil. Lebanon has been without a fully functioning government since Aug. 10, 2020. Point to be noted that former Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s Cabinet resigned days after a massive blast at Beirut’s port that killed at least 214 people, wounded at least 6,000, and damaged entire neighborhoods. Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati was named to the post in late July but has also been unsuccessful so far. The World Bank also described Lebanon’s economic crisis as one of the most severe the world has witnessed since the 1850s.