BEIRUT (Dispatches) -- Iran aims to continue sending fuel products to Lebanon in the future and hopes a bilateral agreement can be struck for that purpose, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said on Friday during a visit to Beirut.
Hezbollah has been coordinating Iranian fuel shipments for Lebanon since August as shortages spread amid an economic meltdown, despite U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil sales.
“At any point in time if the Lebanese government asks Iran formally within the context of their brotherly ties ... Iran is ready to send fuel products,” Amir-Abdollahian said at a news conference.
Amir-Abdollahian held talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and President Michel Aoun on Thursday.
Iran sends the fuel oil shipments organized by Hezbollah to the port of Baniyas in Syria and from there they are transported by truck to Lebanon. Syria is also under U.S. sanctions.
Last month, dozens of trucks carrying Iranian diesel began arriving in Lebanon, part of a series of deliveries organized by Hezbollah to help ease crippling shortages in the cash-strapped country.
The third Iranian tanker carrying diesel arrived in the Syrian port of Baniyas this week and the fuel will be shipped to Lebanon by tanker trucks.
Amir-Abdollanhian said he hoped that Lebanon would get a sanctions waiver in order to have more cooperation with Iran.
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah thanked Iran for helping Lebanon cope with the crisis, saying the Islamic Republic has proven to be a “sincere ally” in spite of the difficult circumstances it is facing.
“Iran has proven that it is a sincere ally and a loyal friend that does not let its allies down no matter how difficult the situations are,” Nasrallah said during a meeting with Amir-Abdollahian.
Lebanon has been mired in a deep economic and financial crisis since late 2019. The crisis is the gravest threat to the country’s stability since the 15-year civil war ended in 1990.
The economic and financial crisis is mostly linked to the sanctions the U.S. and its allies have imposed on Lebanon as well as foreign meddling in the Arab nation’s domestic affairs.
Amir-Abdollahian reaffirmed Iran’s support for Lebanon, saying Tehran stands with Beirut on every level.
In his meeting with President Aoun, the Iranian foreign minister said Tehran is ready to play an active role in development plans in Lebanon, particularly in power plant projects, given the country’s technical and engineering capabilities.
Aoun said the Lebanese people and officials regard Iran as a friendly country as he thanked the Islamic Republic for its unwavering support for his country.
The Lebanese president touched on ongoing negotiations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, saying they would help promote peace in the region.
Iran’s foreign minister said Friday that more talks with Saudi Arabia are needed for Tehran and Riyadh to improve ties but that negotiations so far have been heading in the right direction.
He declined to offer details, saying only that the two sides have reached “specific results and understandings” that would be announced at the right time.
“We are in the process of putting things on the right track,” Amir-Abdollahian told reporters at a press

conference held at the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. “We consider the ongoing dialogue constructive, and we hope that it serves both countries’ interests.”
The comments came on the last day of his two-day visit to Lebanon. He had earlier said that talks so far with the kingdom had gone a “good distance.”
Amir-Abdollahian was on his first visit to Lebanon since taking his post after Iran’s presidential elections this summer. He arrived in Beirut late Wednesday from Moscow. He said nuclear talks to revive Tehran’s now-tattered 2015 accord with world powers, stalled since June, will resume soon.
“We have positively evaluated the continuation of Iranian-Saudi negotiations,” Amir-Abdollahian told reporters after meeting Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, referring to multiple rounds of discussions in Baghdad since the first direct talks between regional foes Riyadh and Tehran took place in early April.
An improvement of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia is likely to have positive effects in Lebanon.
In an apparent reference to U.S. forces deployed in the region, Amir-Abdollahian said: “We consider the presence of foreign forces in the region as the main factor for instability and all problems.”
In another meeting, Amir-Abdollahian told representatives of Palestinian factions and groups at the Iranian embassy that the Zionists cannot have a good night’s sleep because of the Palestinian resistance.
He said the fact that high walls are still being erected around the occupied territories “shows that the resistance is advancing with strength and that the Zionists cannot have a good night’s sleep.”
“The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khamenei and the people of Iran will definitely continue their strong support for the resistance and Palestine until the liberation of all the historical lands of Palestine and until the liberation of Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he said.