The head of the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc MP Mohamad Raad said, “We smell a coup against the Taif Agreement. This coup aims at reassuring the ‘Israeli’ enemy that the Lebanese people can’t face its aggression, so that it dictates its normalization and authoritarian policies and control even deciding the fate of our gas wealth in our territorial waters, as gas exploration is confined to certain companies of certain countries. Despite all this, we still talk about independence and sovereignty, but we are incapable of building one power facility that supplies Lebanon with power 24/7”.
Raad made the statement during the memorial ceremony held by Hezbollah on the 40th day on the passing of Martyr Muhammad Jamal Tamer.
He added, “Our national currency collapsed because it depends on foreign currency. Tomorrow, our policy will collapse because it also depends on foreign policies. If the Lebanese people want this, it’s up to them, but we are sacrificing our blood and souls to protect those who don’t know where there interest is in this period. Is it required that we commit suicide so that others are satisfied? We are keen to preserve the common living in this country; we want it to rule sovereignly and independently, and that its interests are in accordance with the aspirations, will, and national decision”.
“If anyone thinks that the equation has gone wrong and that the power balance became in the interest of the ‘Israeli’ axis and normalization and wants to turn against the Taif, we tell our people to pay attention to this miscalculation because Lebanon has gotten out of the ‘Israeli’ era and will not return to it; as all the methods of force that were used to twist the arm of the Resistance failed, and the sponsors of strife realized that the Resistance benefits from the national consensus on its role in Lebanon. So, let us not allow a faction of the Lebanese to undermine this consensus… The weapon of the Resistance has become on everyone’s lips, and media outlets have been bought in order to promote this issue,” Raad added.
Regarding the Tayouneh crime, Raad said, “What happened is not just a clash between the people of two areas, it’s rather a designed and planned aggression in order to cause a strife and to push people to fight among themselves and mess up the whole situation, so that the killer gives his credentials to the people who hired and pay him regionally or internationally”.
Raad concluded saying, “From now on and without wasting time and opportunities, let’s figure things out. Don’t let anybody drag you to a new civil war in order to impose on you a settlement with new balances of power, as long as people are open to each other and ready for dialogue, and as long as they appreciate their common interests and have no enemies but one enemy, which is still occupying our land”.
لا يحتاج الأمر إلى تحليل ونقاش لاستنتاج محورية قطاع الكهرباء في أزمة لبنان المالية، فأزمة المازوت هي فرع من أزمة الكهرباء، ومتى توافرت الكهرباء تراجعت الحاجة للمازوت إلى أقل من الربع، وتأمين الكهرباء يستدعي زيادة الإنتاج، وهذا يتطلب تمويلاً لإنشاء المعامل ومثله لتشغيلها، ومن دون زيادة الإنتاج فإن تشغيل المعامل القائمة يستدعي توفير الوقود اللازم، وهذا يحتاج للتمويل، والتمويل بالعملات الصعبة، والدولة ومصرفها المركزي لم يعد لديهما القدرة على تأمين هذا التمويل، وشراء العملات الصعبة من السوق سيرفع سعر الصرف ويدفع بالدولار إلى أسعار مقلقة تعني مزيداً من الانهيار، والذهاب لتمويل عبر القروض بلا أفق، لأنه تراكم لديون لا يملك لبنان جواباً عن كيفية سدادها، وعندما يجري البحث بتمويل معامل جديدة من قروض خارجية سواء عبر صندوق النقد الدولي أو سواه، مهما كانت ميسرة ومؤخرة، تبقى كلفة التشغيل بقروض كمثل قرض البنك الدولي المفترض لتمويل استجرار الغاز المصري وشراء الكهرباء من الأردن، وهي قروض قد تتوافر لجزء من الحاجة وجزء من الوقت، لكنها لن تتوافر لكل الحاجة وكل الوقت.
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أمام لبنان طريق وحيد لتفادي السقوط، وهو أن يحصل على وقود التشغيل بطريق يشبه المساعدة العراقية، ولا يبدو أن الحكومات العربية الأخرى التي تملك قدرات نفطية جاهزة للسير على خطى العراق، لكن إيران سبقت الجميع وقالت بلسان مسؤوليها مراراً، وكرر الأمين العام لحزب الله السيد حسن نصرالله التأكيد على جاهزية إيران لتأمين المحروقات التي يحتاجها لبنان، بما فيها وقود تشغيل معامل الكهرباء بالليرة اللبنانية، وهذا العرض الذي لم يلق الاهتمام اللازم تحول إلى مبادرة مباشرة من حزب الله بجلب سفن كسر الحصار، التي قدمت حلاً لجانب من أزمة فقدان المازوت من الأسواق، وأصابت سلم تسعير الاحتكارات التي فرضت معادلات تتحكم بموجبها بالتسعير والسوق، وإذا كانت معامل توليد الكهرباء التي يسعى لبنان لتأمينها تحت شعار زيادة التغذية ثم زيادة التعرفة، لوضع حد لخسائر كهرباء لبنان، فهذا يستدعي ربط التعرفة الجديدة للكهرباء بسعر الدولار، الذي سيضرب سقوفاً قياسية إذا بقي تأمين الوقود اللازم للتشغيل مرتبطاً بتمويل يعتمد على شراء الدولارات من السوق، وهذا يعني الانتقال “من تحت الدلف لتحت المزراب”.
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خيار لبنان الوحيد الإنقاذي الذي ربما لا ينتبه له المسؤولون، أو يخافون أن ينتبهوا له، هو أن يكون لدى لبنان من يزوده بالوقود اللازم لتشغيل معامل الكهرباء بالليرة اللبنانية، فذلك هو الطريق الوحيد الذي يمنع إسهام الطلب على الدولارات اللازمة لشراء الوقود في التسبب برفع متواصل لسعر الصرف وبالتالي سعر التعرفة، وصولاً لحد الانفجار، وتأمين الوقود بالليرة اللبنانية يقع في صلب العروض الإيرانية المتكررة، والعرض الذي أعاد تقديمه وزير الخارجية الإيراني حول بناء معامل الكهرباء يستحق من يناقش تفاصيله مع الجانب الإيراني، لأن لا نقاش حول الجوانب التقنية وأهلية الشركات الإيرانية وقد قامت بإنهاض قطاع الكهرباء في بلادها، وصولاً لتحقيق فائض تبيعه إيران لباكستان والعراق وعدد من دول آسيا الوسطى، وحالياً لأفغانستان وفقاً للتفاهم الجديد بين الحكومتين الإيرانية والأفغانية، ومسؤولية الحكومة اللبنانية كبيرة اليوم في أن تحمل العرض الإيراني بمضمونه التفصيلي لجهة الاعتماد على تمويل بالليرة اللبنانية، وأن تذهب للمعترضين داخلياً وخارجياً وتقول إنه الحل الوحيد الذي يناسب لبنان، وعلى من يعترض أو يرفض أو يهدد بعقوبات أن يقول لا تشتروا من إيران فنحن جاهزون لتزويدكم بالمثل بذات الشروط والأسعار وبالتسعير بالليرة اللبنانية، وما لم نحصل على مثيل فالأمر يستحق المخاطرة بالتعرض للعقوبات، لأنه طريق وحيد لعدم الانهيار، فما نفع الموت وأنت غير معاقب طالما أمامك فرصة العيش ولتكن معاقباً، وعندها تعرف العدو من الصديق.
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تجربة سفن كسر الحصار تقول إن حكومة تملك بعض الشجاعة تستطيع أن تستفيد من العروض الإيرانية لتحفيز الآخرين لعروض مقابلة، أو على الأقل للاستثناء من العقوبات.
Lebanon’s media outlets reported entrance into the United States-sanctioned country of a fifth shipment carrying Iranian fuel as announced earlier by the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.
The shipment was passing through the Syrian border into Lebanon carrying fuel residue, al-Mayadeen reported.
According to Lebanese sources, the consignments were passing into Lebanon through the Hermel-al-Qasir border area.
The shipments have been reaching Lebanon in the face of the US’s sanctions targeting both the Islamic Republic and the country.
The US re-imposed its sanctions on Iran in 2018 after illegally leaving a historic nuclear accord between the Islamic Republic and world countries.
It has been enforcing similar measures against Lebanon for more than a year to pressure the country over influence wielded in its political and military sectors by Hezbollah. In the 2000s, the movement fought off two major wars on Lebanon that had been waged by the Zionist occupation regime, Washington’s most treasured ally in the region.
The sanctions have taken huge toll on the Lebanese economy, leading to acute shortage of staples, including gasoline and diesel.
Hezbollah has, however, vowed that the country would keep importing Iranian fuel, pledging not to allow Washington to further interfere with the Lebanese people’s livelihoods.
During his speeches, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has identified the American Embassy in Beirut as the “operation room” devising sabotage plots against the country’s economy.
Announcing pending arrival of the third and fourth consignments on September 12, Sayyed Nasrallah said some had hoped and speculated that the ‘Israeli’ regime would intervene and target the shipments.
The speculations, however, simply served propagandist media purposes, His Eminence said, adding, “It became finally clear that such remarks are false.”
Beirut – Unique of its kind, Hermel’s Al Assi river in north Lebanon, flows upwards towards Syria opposing the logical direction of any river and links between the Syrian and Lebanese borders. The link between the two neighbors is fed with social and political factors that has long bonded both countries for hundred years to date.
Since the 2011 Syrian crisis and the most recent Lebanese crises, the first official Lebanese delegation visited the Syrian capital last week to discuss the possibility of importing gas from Egypt through the Syrian territories in a bid to solve the fuel shortages in power plants, which has affected Lebanon’s economy and day-to-day life.
After a 10-year cut in diplomatic ties between the two governments and amid the ensuing calamities in Lebanon as the worst monetary inflation taking place, the Lebanese government has no time for any additional delays to enhance the country’s economy to a better level as much as possible.
In the light of the aforementioned, an official delegation including Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister Zeina Akar, Minister of Energy and Water Raymond Ghajar, Finance Minister Ghazi Wazne, Secretary-General of the Lebanese Syrian Higher Council Nasri khoury and General Security Director General Abbas Ibrahim headed to Syria on September 4 in the highest level visit in years to ask Syria to allow the passage of Egyptian gas through the Syrian territories.
The 4-hour meeting concluded with a declaration on behalf of the Syrian side of full assistance and cooperation and an agreement on the technical procedures to implement the move immediately.
The next day, Syrian President Bashar Assad met with a Lebanese Druze delegation at the Syrian Presidential Palace.
Head of the Lebanese Democratic Party MP Talal Arslan and head of the Arab Unitarian Party and former minister Wiam Wahhab asserted the importance of the strong ties between the two countries in face of any challenge.
The delegation also presented a warm greeting by Sheikh Nasseredine al-Gharib, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Lebanon, congratulating Syria for its latest victories against terrorism, confirming that the Druze community will always be loyal to Syria and its people.
Forty-eight hours were enough to put things back on track between the two neighbors, proving that no matter how vicious the battles and struggles both nations may face, given the boundless US-“Israel” meddling via political and military policies such as the Caesar Act and the backing of terrorist groups. Hence, Syrian-Lebanese cooperation has a direct beneficial impact for both countries, it struck US proxies in Lebanon calling for a full cut of ties with Syria in the heart revealing how wrong their visions and decisions are.
A whole decade of a conspiring to split Syria and Lebanon, reinforced by a brutal war led by the US and its proxies has failed, and all the facts lead to the reality that Syria is the only gateway for Lebanon and its true ally for better or worse, taking in consideration the recent crisis in Lebanon.
The brotherhood between Lebanon and Syria is as the Al Assi River, facing the calamities and all the struggles together, with a one-of-a-kind link, standing side by side at every precise moment, even when opposing nature itself – against all odds!
The Secretary-General of the Syrian-Lebanese Higher Council [SLHC] Nasri Khoury underscored the importance of Syria’s response to the Lebanese request to bring in Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity through its territory. The response highlights the eagerness of the Syrian state to build close relations with neighboring Lebanon. In doing so, it rises above the many abuses committed against it by some Lebanese forces and parties. This is based on its belief in joint action, which is beneficial to all.
Mutual feasibility
In an exclusive interview with al-Ahed News, Khoury expressed his hope that the Lebanese have realized that it is in the interest of their country to coordinate and consult with the Syrian state, at least from an economic standpoint. This provides great benefit to both countries, especially Lebanon that suffers from great economic and financial distress amid deep political divisions.
According to Khoury, Syria continually rises above the wounds and fires unleashed upon it by some Lebanese factions. It focuses on the importance of openness and the positive results that this openness has on both sides.
He also indicated that Syria’s production capabilities are widely available, which serves as a major asset to Lebanon. Syria also needs Lebanon’s many capabilities, as well as strong ties with Jordan and Egypt, which will lead to overcoming crises imposed by unjust decisions, such as the US blockade on Syria that had negative effects on Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq.
Khoury drew attention to the role played by the SLHC in arranging a visit to Damascus by a high-ranking Lebanese delegation and the accompanying silent effort to reach positive conclusions. This happened more than ten years after the Lebanese government prevented its delegations from consulting and coordinating with Damascus.
Agreement to maintain lines of communication and networks
According to the Secretary-General of the SLHC, Syria always acts according to the logic of a state that knows its interests and preserves the interests of others. Therefore, it is not surprising that it took the initiative to agree to the request of the Lebanese side to bring Egyptian gas to Lebanon through its territory, and in doing so it complies with all that is required of it in this context.
Meanwhile, others still have to abide by their duties within the framework of activating the agreement to get Egyptian gas to Lebanon through Syria and Jordan, which was signed in 2009 and applied for two years before Egypt stopped pumping gas.
Khoury explained to Al-Ahed that the Syrian side, represented by Oil Minister Bassam Tohme, had discussed with the Lebanese side, represented by Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar, all technical issues related to the maintenance of networks and power transmission lines that extend over long distances inside the Syrian and Lebanese territories, especially since some of them have been subjected to systematic sabotage by terrorist groups located in southern Syria.
He expressed his hope that the agreement to get Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity to Lebanon through Syrian territory will be reactivated again, and that it will be a prelude to signing new agreements between Lebanon and Syria that take into account the broader interests of the two countries and the entire region.
Lebanon will be importing its needs of gas and electric power from Egypt and Jordan respectively via Syria after a Lebanese top delegate obtained Syria’s approval during a visit to Damascus by a top ministerial delegation, a first of its kind in more than 10 years.
The Lebanese delegation was headed by Zeina Akar, acting minister of defense and minister of foreign affairs, and included Minister of Finance Ghazi Wazni and Energy Raymond Ghajar, and Director General of Public Security Major General Abbas Ibrahim.
Both Lebanon and Syria suffer massive shortages in fuel and electricity due to US and EU sanctions on Syria dubbed the Caesar Act, the US instructions to its satellite states not to export gas and gasoline to both countries, and the US occupation of Syria’s main oil and gas fields in northeastern Syria.
Prior to the US-led war of terror and war of attrition against Syria that started in March 2011, Syria was self-sufficient in its petroleum and energy needs and was exporting excesses to Lebanon and other countries providing 24 hours full supply of electricity to the last remote village in Syria and in Lebanon. Now, the people in both countries barely get a couple of hours of electricity per day due to the aforementioned reasons.
Lebanon, spearheaded by a number of corrupt officials working against the interests of their own country, has effectively contributed to the US-led war of terror against Syria to find itself years later a victim of its own evil deeds which harmed millions of Syrians by terrorists smuggled from and through Lebanon into Syria along with massive quantities of weapons and munition.
Syria will be benefiting from the transit deal, if it goes through after addressing the technical issues, financially from transit tariffs or by taking a share from imports to satisfy the country’s needs until the Biden forces occupying Syria’s oil and gas fields finish their task in ‘democratizing’ those fields and go home on the other side of the planet.
This top Lebanese ministerial visit to Syria and asking Syria’s approval to allow the transit of these imports of gas from Egypt and electricity from Jordan was at the orders of the US ambassador to Lebanon who instructed the Lebanese President MicMichel Aoun to import the country’s needs of gas and electricity in a cheap and futile attempt to circumvent the solution provided by Sayyed Hasan Nasr Allah, the chief of Hezb Allah, who started importing fuel from Iran challenging the US, EU, and Gulfies embargo on his country. The US ambassador who tried to show her country as caring for the Lebanese people during times of crisis has instead exposed her country’s direct responsibility for the economic woes in Lebanon.
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Radwan Mortada The Iranian fuel tanker set to shortly deliver oil to Lebanon will break the US-imposed embargo on the country.
The chokehold on Lebanon has grown even tighter, thanks to the embargo imposed against it by the United States and its Arab allies in the Persian Gulf. This comes at the lowest point of Lebanon’s two-year-old economic crisis, a catastrophe the World Bank calls the worst the world has seen since 1850. The country’s sudden-but-deliberate fuel shortage, vital to essential daily activity and life-saving medical services, has accelerated this alarm. Today, bread is in shortage and hospitals are sending out distress calls, civilians are camping in front of petrol stations, and water has all but disappeared from supermarket shelves.
With general government inaction and the failure of Lebanon’s political parties to form a new government, Hezbollah has forged ahead with its plan to import fuel from Iran. A few weeks ago, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had paved the way by saying that if the government does nothing to resolve the fuel crisis, “Hezbollah will make arrangements with Iran, buy gasoline and diesel vessels, bring them to Beirut Port, and let the government [if it can] prohibit their delivery to the Lebanese people.” In a later speech, he added: “The brothers in Hezbollah are currently in Iran to complete the gasoline and diesel deal, and we will deliver them soon, either by land or by sea.”
Last week, Nasrallah announced the news of imminent oil imports from Iran, warning the world not to interfere with the fuel tanker that set sail from the Iranian coast towards Lebanon.
A Lebanese expert in oil and gas governance in the MENA region, Laury Haytayan, estimates that it will take 15 days for the Iranian gasoline tanker departing from the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas to reach Lebanon. Haytayan says the ship will pass the Strait of Hormuz, then Bab al-Mandab, and sail through the Red Sea into the Suez Canal before heading to Lebanon. Likewise, a maritime expert speaking on condition of anonymity suggested another route the Iranian oil tanker could take: the Cape Route near South Africa, northwards and through the Strait of Gibraltar, crossing Cypriot and Greek shores to reach the Mediterranean coast. This route, he noted, would take the ship 45 days to arrive.
Lebanon’s Minister of Energy Raymond Ghajar says that he has not received a request to allow Iranian oil into the country, and notes that Nasrallah “chose his words correctly when he said that the ship sailed from Iran to the Mediterranean Sea, and not Lebanese territorial waters,” which opens the possibility that the ship will not dock in Lebanese ports. It is altogether possible, therefore, that the ship will head towards the Syrian coast to unload at the Baniyas refinery, and then be transported by land to Lebanon.
As soon as Nasrallah first announced his offer to provide fuel for Lebanon, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Lebanese Forces Party Executive Chairman Samir Geagea – both of whom are affiliated with Saudi Arabia – denounced the move, accusing the Hezbollah leader of pushing Lebanon into a war between two axes. Previously, neither of them had said a word about the suffering of Lebanese patients in hospitals or their humiliatingly long waits at gas stations. Moreover, neither took the initiative to appeal to their Saudi patrons to assist Lebanon. If anything, both were painfully aware that Saudi Arabia was covertly obstructing the formation of a Lebanese government.
An Iraqi source, who took part in the Iran–Saudi negotiations organized by Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi, revealed to The Cradle that when the Iranian delegate mentioned the issue of Lebanon during the negotiations, the Saudi delegate quickly interrupted: “Lebanon is not a priority for us. We don’t want to discuss Lebanon now.”
Hezbollah, however, has been clear in its message that the aim of importing Iranian oil is not to cause a clash, but simply to provide essential fuel for the Lebanese population. Before Nasrallah announced the first shipment, Hezbollah staff gathered information from hospitals and bakeries to work out their monthly fuel requirements. Zahrani power plant manager Ziad al-Zain tells The Cradle that Lebanon needs about 10 million liters of diesel a day for its electricity needs, and that the Zahrani plant accounts for 15 percent of gasoline consumption in the entire country.
Sources informed of Hezbollah’s internal discussions during the past few weeks reveal that the deliberations focused on whether to import the oil by sea or by land, and to investigate both options and consequences.
According to the sources, a specialized committee, supervised directly by Nasrallah, was set up to conduct research and identify a solution for the fuel crisis. Three recommendations were provided.
Initially, the committee proposed that the work should be carried out by the Lebanese government, with the government formulating the oil contracts. Hezbollah went so far as to negotiate the use of the Lebanese lira to pay for the imported oil, but the government did not respond to this proposal. The second recommendation was to pressure Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh to continue opening credit lines for fuel subsidies, especially as the financial crisis was just beginning to unfold.
The third recommendation was to work within the existing margins of the Ministry of Energy — for example, through the communications that led Lebanon’s General Security Director Abbas Ibrahim to contact Iraq for oil, before those talks also fizzled over internal legislative obstacles. Despite Iraq’s responsiveness to quickly provide Lebanon with fuel, it is the Lebanese side that has delayed the process. The hurdle, it seems, was in submitting the Iraq oil proposal to parliament’s Committee of Legislation and Consultation for consideration, where it quickly disappeared into a black hole.
Amin Nasser, director of the Iraqi Media Network in Lebanon and the Levant, who accompanied the Lebanese delegation to Iraq alongside Abbas Ibrahim and Energy Minister Ghajar, says the delays have been entirely caused by Lebanese internal political obstruction. Nasser, however, also disclosed that there was a decision to override the obstructions and issue a tender, and suggests that Iraqi oil will arrive in Lebanon on 3 September, although this has yet to be confirmed.
Another informed Iraqi source told The Cradle: “There were no obstacles on the Iraqi side, as Baghdad’s offer was made without conditions. However, there was one last-minute condition set by Iraq’s Minister of Finance, Dr. Abdul-Amir Allawi, head of the Iraqi negotiating team, related to the need to place tender announcements for companies interested in refining Iraqi oil through an official online platform linked to the Lebanese Ministry of Energy. And if a company is chosen, we must be informed of the name, address and details of this company, which will deal directly with the Iraq’s Oil Marketing Company, SOMO.”
The Iraqi source points out that subsequently, “no Lebanese or foreign companies were publicly announced through any official website or online platform linked to the Ministry of Energy, and no mechanisms were put in place to choose companies, nor tenders, nor who won them. The only thing mentioned was that there were five unidentified competing companies, which Iraq has no knowledge of, and were not placed on the platform.”
As for the Iraqi fuel arriving within the first few days of September, that flimsy expectation likely relates to Lebanese Minister Ghajar informing Iraq that he has completed administrative and technical procedures, including overland shipping, and that boat shipments were scheduled to sail in the next two days.
“So far, we have received no direct answers from the Lebanese side,” The Cradle’s Baghdad source says, adding that the Iraqi side remains silent so as not to exacerbate the Lebanese problem. “Iraq says we have offered oil unconditionally, and Lebanon must take action to clear its goods. In the case that it cannot do so, then we can help by shipping one million tons at the expense of the Iraqi government,” the source explains.
It was this kind of dead-end, accountability-lacking negotiations that prompted Hezbollah to knock on Iran’s door for fuel. According to sources close to the Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah’s plan is to buy fuel from Iran with payment facilities and under contracts signed between the two parties. These sources say the first shipment of diesel oil will be a gift from the Iranian people to the Lebanese people. However, Iranian news reports have said that a group of Shia businessmen assumed the cost for the first oil tanker.
Within hours of Nasrallah’s bold 19 August speech, Lebanese President Michel Aoun received a phone call from Washington’s Beirut Ambassador Dorothy Shea, informing him of the US administration’s decision to help Lebanon receive Egyptian gas and electricity from Jordan via Syria. This Egyptian-Jordanian-Syrian proposal is not new. IMF Executive Director Mahmoud Mohieldin, in an earlier visit to Lebanon, assured officials that Jordan is able to obtain US approval to exempt Egyptian gas from the Caesar Act [a piece of US domestic legislation crafted to punish any party that does business with or through Syria], allowing its transfer through Jordan and Syria to Lebanon without being subject to US sanctions.
Hezbollah’s first reaction to the US ambassador’s “offer” was a public lashing by Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah: “Instead of being ashamed of herself, and hiding the shame of her administration from [events] in Kabul airport to the siege of Beirut, the US ambassador is trying to justify American aggression against Lebanon, exposing, by her usual shamelessness, the responsibility her administration bears in the suffering of the Lebanese people when she admitted to her ability to bring funding from the World Bank to transfer electricity from Jordan via Syria, which is besieged by the American-imposed Caesar Act.”
Fadlallah also said that “preventing access to electricity via Syria is an American decision, which was only revised because of the fuel ship arriving from the Islamic Republic. This also means that when the United States decides to lift its hand from its preventative decisions, the pain of the Lebanese people could [easily] be alleviated.” He added that “the timing of the US ambassador’s announcement is an explicit condemnation of its own administration, which has been prohibiting any foreign assistance to the Lebanese people, including transferring their own money from Syrian banks, and providing Lebanon with life-saving products, a matter that only requires it to signal its approval. All the while, it has been protecting its corrupt allies and threatening to impose sanctions against those who compromise [American] influence within state institutions.”
Nasrallah announced in his 22 August speech that the fleet of Iranian fuel ships has effectively begun, and that a second Iranian ship will set sail toward Lebanon in a matter of days. The Hezbollah chief spoke about Lebanese businessmen who would pay for the fuel, revealing that they were ready for this sacrifice, even if they were placed on the US sanctions list. The aim behind this action, Nasrallah said, is to alleviate the suffering of the people, and that the fuel will be for all Lebanese and all residents of Lebanon. He did, however, prioritize hospitals, pharmaceutical factories, and bakeries.
As for US Ambassador Dorothy Shea and her “promises,” this was nothing more than “selling illusions” to the Lebanese people, Nasrallah parried. Her words, he said, “confirm that her country is responsible for preventing electricity and fuel from [entering] Lebanon, and that the Americans and Saudis have sought to ignite a civil war in Lebanon over the past years, but had clearly failed to do so.”
Sayyed Nasrallah also said that importing gas from Egypt and electricity from Jordan requires negotiations with Syria, something that the Lebanese state could have formally requested itself from the Syrian state had it not under an economic embargo imposed on it by the US.
لم يقع على لبنان زلزال ولا نشبت فيه حرب، وهو في أزمات تصل حدّ الانهيار الشامل، تنفي الإدارة الأميركية مسؤوليتها عن الحصار الذي فجر أزمات نظام الفساد والمحاصصة، وينفي جماعة السفارة الأميركية أيّ دور للأميركيين من جهة ولنظام الفساد والمحاصصة من جهة أخرى، فيروّجون لنظرية أن السبب تتحمّله المقاومة التي تستخدم وزنها في لبنان لتأمين مقومات الحياة لسورية، فسعر الدولار يرتفع في السوق لأنّ حزب الله يشتري الدولارات ويؤمّنها لسورية، والمحروقات تنفد من الأسواق لأن حزب الله يقوم بتهريبها الى سورية، وبالرغم من أنّ هؤلاء يتنمّرون على وسائل التواصل الإجتماعي على مقاتلي المقاومة لأنهم يقبضون روابتهم بالدولار، ما يعني انّ حزب الله يضخ دولارات في السوق اللبنانية، لا يرفّ لهؤلاء جفن بالزعم انّ حزب الله يسحب الدولارات من هذه السوق، والتناقض صارخ بين الأمرين، لكن هؤلاء تراجعوا مؤخرا عن حكاية الدولار وسعره، لكنهم متمسكون بنظرية المحروقات وتكرارها وراءهم الكثير من المؤسسات الإعلامية والشخصيات السياسية ورهط جديد يسمّى بالمحللين السياسيين.
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بعض هؤلاء لم يتردّد بالتساؤل من موقع التنمّر أيضاً، على إعلان إيران عن استئناف تصديرها للبنزين والغاز المسيل الى أفغانستان ليقول، إنّ إيران تدعم جهة أصولية متطرفة، متجاهلاً بصلافة وجلافة ووقاحة، أصل الخبر، وهو أنّ لدى إيران فائضاً من المشتقات النفطية يجعل مسار السفن الى لبنان واقعياً بخلاف الأكاذيب التي قام هؤلاء بنشرها عن أنّ إيران تعاني شحاً في المحروقات ولا تملك فائضاً للتصدير، وهي بالمناسبة تبيع الكهرباء لأفغانستان وتركيا وباكستان، وهو شكل من بيع منتج يتمّ توليده بواسطة المحروقات، والشق الثاني من الخبر هو أنّ إيران تستأنف، أيّ أنها كانت تصدّر المشتقات النفطية في ظلّ حكومة أشرف غني وفي ظل حكم اميركي مباشر لأفغانستان، دون ان تلحق بحكومة غني أي عقوبات يهددون هم لبنان بالمخاطرة بالتعرّض لها اذا وصلته السفن من ايران محملة بالمشتقات، والشق الثالث من الخبر هو أن وكالة «رويترز» العالمية قدرت الكمية التي صدّرتها إيران لأفغانستان بـ 500 مليون ليتر من البنزين خلال سنة تمتدّ بين شهري أيار للعامين 2020 و2021، تعادل ربع الاستهلاك السنوي لأفغانستان، وما يعادل أيضا ربع الإستهلاك اللبناني المقدّر بملياري ليتر سنوياً، لكن هؤلاء المتنمّرون تجاهلوا وتغاضوا عن كلّ ما هو جوهري واهتمّوا بما يظنونه فرصة للتنمّر، وهو يفضح تفاهتهم من جهة، لكنه يفضح بلاهتهم من جهة أخرى، لأنّ إيران تعرف ما تفعل مع طالبان كما كانت تعرف ما كانت تفعل مع حكومة أشرف غني، لأنّ الأمر يتصل بالحالتين من زاويتها بحاجات حيوية للشعب الأفغاني، كما تعرف ما تفعل مع لبنان لو طلبت منه الحكومة دعماً في قطاع المحروقات او طلب حزب الله أو طلب أيّ حزب لبناني لأنّ المطلوب يمثل حاجة حيوية للشعب اللبناني.
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يعرف الخبراء في مكافحة التهريب، أنّ بين لبنان وسورية طريق واحد لوقف التهريب هو اعتماد لبنان لدعم محصور بحاملي بطاقات، كما هو الحال في سورية، وتسعير السوق المفتوح بسعر موحد في البلدين يقطع دابر التهريب، وعدم سلوك هذا الخيار كان مقصوداً من صنّاع آلية الدعم الفوضوي في لبنان، لاستنفاد مخزون الدولارات وتحويلها لأصحاب النفوذ شركاء كارتل النفط لتسريع السقوط الشامل من جهة وتأمين السيطرة على أموال طائلة من جهة موازية، وبعيداً عن هذا النقاش تعالوا الى الأرقام، تستهلك سورية في ظلّ أزماتها المتعددة وصعوباتها الناتجة عن سرقة مواردها النفطية الواقعة تحت الإحتلال الأميركي، قرابة 150 مليون ليتر من البنزين شهرياً توزع من خلال البطاقات على السيارات، فيما يشكل كلّ ما يستورده لبنان شهرياً 120 مليون ليتر يباع منها حسب تقارير الشركات في لبنان قرابة 100 مليون ليتر ويقدّرون التهريب والسوق السوداء بحجم 20 مليون ليتر، وهي كمية تعادل 15% فقط من حجم ما هو متداول في السوق السورية، لكنها تهرّب لتباع الى سورية لحساب الفئة التي تستهدفها عملية البيع في السوق المفتوح في سورية بسعر يعادل العشرين دولاراً لصفيحة البنزين من قبل الحكومة، فيأتي التهريب المموّل على سعر يعادل ربع القمية الحقيقية للكلفة ليبيعها بقرابة العشرة دولارات للصفيحة، ويحقق ربحاً خيالياً لأصحابه ويسحب الدولارات من السوق السورية الى لبنان، طبعاً يعرف المتنمّرون كلّ ذلك، لكنهم يكذبون أملاً بتشويش عقول اللبنانيين، كما فعلوا في قضية النترات وفعلت تلفزيوناتهم تحت شعار الإعلام التحقيقي، للإيحاء بأنّ دولة مثل سورية وقوة ضخمة كحزب الله، يخزنان آلاف أطنان المتفجرات الحديثة، سيحتاجان الى تخزين أقلّ من ثلاثة آلاف طن من النترات تعادل ثلاثة آلاف كلغ من المتفجرات الحديثة التي يملكان منها آلاف الأطنان، وابقائها لسبع سنوات، بينما تنتج سورية عبر أحد معاملها خلال ثلاثة أيام أكثر من هذه الكمية التي بقيت مخزنة سنوات، لكن معادلة غوبلز لا تزال تغري البعض تحت شعار اكذب اكذب فلا بدّ ان يصدقك الآخرون!
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فضيحة الفضائح هي في الكهرباء، وايّ مقاربة لها تكفي لسقوط منطق هؤلاء بالضربة القاضية، فحتى صدور قانون قيصر بقي لبنان يشتري الكهرباء من سورية، ايّ ما يعنيه الخبر هو أنّ لبنان كان عاجزاً عن إنتاج حاجته من الكهرباء بينما كانت سورية تنتج فائضاً عن حاجتها، وجاء قانون قيصر فتوقف لبنان عن شراء الكهرباء السورية وتوقفت سورية أيضاً عن إنتاج فائض، ودخل البلدان كلّ في نوع مختلف من الأزمة، وإنتاج الكهرباء مرآة لسوق المحروقات، فالإنتاج يتمّ بالغاز والفيول، فكم ينتج لبنان اليوم وكم تنتج سورية، وكيف يقنن لبنان وكيف تقنن سورية، أليس هذا هو التعبير الدقيق عن واقع سوق المحروقات، وهنا مشكلة «الكذابين» انهم لا يستطيعون ممارسة مواهبهم وهوايتهم في الكذب، كي يقولوا انّ الفيول والغاز يتمّ تهريبهما من لبنان الى سورية، فليفسّروا للناس كيف انّ إنتاج كهرباء لبنان انخفض الى قرابة 800 ميغاوات، وانخفض التقنين الى أقلّ من أربع ساعات يومياً، بينما لم ينزل إنتاج سورية عن 2400 ميغاوات، ولم ينخفض التقنين عن 10 ساعات يومياً في المدن ولا يقلّ عنه إلا في مناطق محدودة حيث اصيبت الشبكات ومحطات التحويل بتخريب الجماعات الإرهابية.
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ما مرّ على سورية من حروب وما تعانيه بفعل الحصار والعقوبات، يكفيان لتسقط فيها كلّ مقومات الحياة، ولكن لأنّ في سورية دولة، ولأنّ اللبنانيين أقاموا سلطة ولم يبنوا دولة، يسوء حال اللبنانيين دون حرب ودون زلزال، عن حال السوريين، لكن رغم هذا الإنهيار بقي بين من يسمّون ببعض صناع الرأي والسياسة من اللبنانيين من لا يجد أمامه إلا الكذب للتهرّب من مسؤوليته ومسؤولية مرجعيته الدولية والإقليمية في صناعة الانهيار، وفوق ذلك يملك وقاحة رمي المسؤولية زوراً وبهتاناً على سورية والمقاومة.
UPROOTED PALESTINIANS: SALAM ALQUDS ALAYKUM 