In Yemen and Lebanon: Mullahs’ arms protect Iranian interests with weapon of oil

Mohamed Abdul Ghaffar

Since the outbreak of Iranian Revolution, the Khomeinist regime that controls the country has focused on several goals, foremost of which is exporting the principles of the revolution to countries abroad and creating arms for Tehran in the countries of the region to defend its interests, as the mullahs were convinced that the first steps to protect their revolution lie in defending it, beginning with countries abroad, not only within the borders of the Iranian state.

The mullah regime continued to implement its plan until it succeeded in planting several arms in various countries, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthi terrorist militia in Yemen, and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq, in addition to a number of arms deployed in Syria and other countries in the region.

Fatal oil crisis in Beirut

The process of exploration and provision of oil in Lebanon is an old matter, as it began in 1926 when then-French High Commissioner Henry de Jouvenel issued legislation permitting the exploration, investment and extraction of oil. Based on this legislation, several wells were drilled on the Lebanese mainland during the period from the 1930s to the 1970s, some of which reached a depth of nearly 3,000 meters, although none of them succeeded in extracting oil.

Excavations were halted due to the civil war that erupted in the country, before returning during the 1990s. But the year 2013 witnessed the beginning of the Lebanese people’s actual hopes in this field through the expansion of the two-dimensional geophysical survey process, which showed that Lebanon’s marine waters are a gas area, results confirmed by studies and research issued by international research centers during this period. The US Geological Survey confirmed that there are 122 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas in the Mediterranean Basin, which includes Lebanon’s marine waters.

Despite this huge stock of recoverable gas, the Lebanese have been experiencing a major oil crisis in recent months, as oil is not regularly found in official places of sale, while the black market is active in abundance and at very high prices, due to the closed political horizon in the country.

Exploitation of crises

Iran is taking advantage of the political, economic and social crises in different countries to find a foothold in them, just like all terrorist and extremist organizations that take these circumstances as an entry point for talks with the peoples of various countries to convince them of their ideas and the need to belong to their groups.

This is what Tehran did in Yemen, for example, where it took advantage of the poor living and political conditions that followed what was known as the Youth Revolution and helped its arm there, represented by the Houthi militia, to take control of vast geographical areas and control the reins of power in a large number of governorates.

Lebanon was ahead of its peers in Iran’s crude interference in its affairs through the Lebanese Hezbollah, which not only tried to control the Lebanese political situation, but also extended beyond that, as Hezbollah entered the country into proxy wars in favor of the Iranian regime, with Lebanese citizens in the south of the country paying the price.

Tehran intervenes through its arm

The oil file in Lebanon witnessed significant negative movements this week, as Riad Salameh, Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, stopped fuel subsidies, calling for the issuance of legislation covering the exchange from the mandatory reserves to solve this crisis, which resulted in a significant increase in the price of fuels by the General Directorate of Oil after the dollar exchange rate was adopted to 8,000 Lebanese pounds for the purchase of fuel.

As a result of this decision, several demonstrations took place in the various Lebanese governorates, which resulted in the blocking of main roads in different regions of the country, foreshadowing a major crisis that Tehran has exploited through Hezbollah, whose Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah hastened to speak to the citizens and promise that his terrorist organization would solve this crisis.

Nasrallah announced in a speech broadcast on Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV that the first ship carrying oil has already sailed from Tehran, adding, “Our second ship will sail within days, and other ships will join it… We will continue this path as long as there is a need in the country. We will continue to take responsibility.”

“We are not a substitute for the state, neither in this matter nor in anything else… We are not coming as an alternative, nor are we coming to compete with anyone,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tehran was quick to comment on this statement, saying that it could not stand silent in front of the suffering of the Lebanese people and that it would be quick to provide a helping hand to Beirut. Saeed Khatibzadeh, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said, “We cannot be satisfied with watching the suffering of the Lebanese people… This is an empowered and wealthy people, and it is natural to send fuel to those who buy it from us,” adding, “We are ready to help Lebanon in this regard, if the Lebanese government requests it.”

During Nasrallah’s speech on Sunday, August 22, he clarified the actual reasons behind this act, saying, “We suggest to the government, if you accept, that we have companies to extract and sell oil and gas, and they are not afraid of Israeli bombing and can extract and sell gas and oil.”

It is clear that Iran has set its eyes on Lebanon’s share of the strategic reserves of recoverable gas in the Mediterranean Basin, as this huge reserve can contribute to improving the poor economic conditions in Tehran and help it bypass the strict US economic sanctions imposed on the country.

The dangers of this situation are not hidden, especially as it will ignite a proxy war between Hezbollah and Israel, as it is expected that Israel will not accept the presence of Iranian exploration ships near its share of the gas located in the Mediterranean Basin.