In a post on his Twitter account, the Iranian foreign minister’s assistant and director general of the Foreign Ministry’s West Asia and North Africa department reaffirmed Tehran’s support for the Lebanese people amid the fuel crisis that has gripped the Arab country.
“As one of the major producers and exporters of energy in the region, the Islamic Republic of Iran stands with the people of Lebanon to help them,” Mohammad Sadegh Fazli said.
“Tehran is prepared to host the Lebanese for talks about supplying the fuel needed by the people of that country. We’ll never abandon our friends in difficult days,” the Iranian diplomat added.
Lebanon has struggled with severe fuel shortages for months, both to top up vehicles and to power electricity generators.
Lebanon’s dysfunction is now compounded by open-ended strikes at most government offices, as salaries are no longer sufficient for employees to get to work.
The International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Beirut office estimates that nearly 100 percent of civil employees are now engaged in permanent or intermittent work stoppages.
The severe devaluation of the Lebanese lira – since 2019, the monthly minimum wage has sunk from the equivalent of $450 to $24 at last week’s exchange rate – is also what motivates the workers to strike. The government has thus far failed to approve a new budget or salary increases of any kind. Ministries have also run out of basic supplies like paper and ink.