US State Department: Importing Iranian oil puts Lebanon at risk
Geraldine Griffiths, a spokeswoman for the US State Department’s regional office, commented on Hezbollah’s entry of Iranian oil into Lebanese territory, emphasizing that the US administration has imposed new sanctions on Hezbollah, preventing it from exploiting Lebanese resources to secure its financing.
In an interview with the “Voice of the People” program on Voice of Beirut International and LBCI channel, Griffiths said: “What matters to us is that there is a government in Lebanon that can carry out its role and implement reforms, and it is not hidden from anyone that Lebanon suffers from an energy problem.
Griffiths stated that the US administration was working to find long-term solutions to Lebanon’s energy crisis, emphasizing that importing fuels from a sanctioned country does not serve Lebanon’s interests and puts it at risk.
“The US is taking a few measures against Iran and unlawful oil imports, and is prepared to help Lebanon in overcoming its vitality emergency, given that the Lebanese specialists are willing to play their part,” Griffiths added.
“The issue of sanctions against Hezbollah isn’t constrained to the US, but the international community, since of its destabilizing exercises, and we are going not falter to hold Hezbollah responsible for its destabilizing exercises at the cost of the Lebanese people.” The territorial representative for the US State Division responded.
