BEIRUT: Iranian officials informed a Lebanese technical delegation in Tehran on Tuesday that Iran could provide 600,000 tonnes of fuel over the course of five months to Lebanon to help with its power shortage, according to Lebanese TV station al-Manar. 

If the fuel deal is approved, Iran would supply fuel directly to the Lebanese government for the first time after sending some to its ally Hezbollah, a powerful armed group that is a part of Lebanon's coalition government.

Although Lebanon has experienced power outages for several years, the country's economic collapse in 2019 has depleted state coffers and slowed imports of fuel for government plants.

Because of this, most homes in the country now receive only one or two hours of state-provided electricity per day, and the cost of private generator subscriptions has skyrocketed with fuel prices rising around the world.

According to sources who spoke to Reuters without providing further details, Iran earlier this month "gifted" Lebanon fuel that met the requirements needed to power Lebanon's power plants.

The Iranian embassy in Beirut announced on Monday that fuel ships could reach Lebanon in two weeks.
According to local television station Al-Manar, Tehran had offered to supply 600,000 tonnes over a five-month period. The amount was confirmed by a power ministry source, who also said the deal would be completed the next day.

A spokesman for the Energy Ministry told Reuters on Tuesday that "we have sent a technical delegation to Tehran and they are studying the details."

Iran supplied fuel last year to Hezbollah, a group classified as a terrorist organization by the US and some other Western countries. In an effort to evade US sanctions on Iran's energy sector, that fuel was shipped to Syria and then to Lebanon by trucks.

During the last year, the United States took no action. The US embassy declined to comment on Tuesday.

Hezbollah leader Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly urged the Lebanese government to buy fuel from Iran to help with the country's energy crisis.

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