Legal Warnings Surround Lebanon’s Acquisition of Iranian Oil

For months, Lebanon has been witnessing a fuel crisis that further worsened in recent weeks as a result of rationing in the distribution of gasoline and diesel fuel. (AFP)
For months, Lebanon has been witnessing a fuel crisis that further worsened in recent weeks as a result of rationing in the distribution of gasoline and diesel fuel. (AFP)
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Legal Warnings Surround Lebanon’s Acquisition of Iranian Oil

For months, Lebanon has been witnessing a fuel crisis that further worsened in recent weeks as a result of rationing in the distribution of gasoline and diesel fuel. (AFP)
For months, Lebanon has been witnessing a fuel crisis that further worsened in recent weeks as a result of rationing in the distribution of gasoline and diesel fuel. (AFP)

Legal experts have warned of the repercussions of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah’s announcement of importing oil from Iran on the movement of transactions, credits and shipping to and from Lebanon, and the reluctance of international financial institutions and international correspondent banks to cooperate with the country.

Since 2018, US authorities have imposed sanctions on anyone who knowingly enters into deals with Iranian oil companies in order to buy, possess, sell, transfer or market Iranian petroleum products.

For months, Lebanon has been witnessing a fuel crisis that further worsened in recent weeks as a result of rationing in the distribution of gasoline and diesel fuel, two substances subsidized by the Banque du Liban (BDL), the foreign reserves of which have severely decreased.

Dr. Paul Morcos, the head of Justicia, a human rights organization, warned that importing fuel from Iran, without obtaining a special exemption from the US Treasury Department, could place the country under US sanctions, which would be reflected in the movement of remittances, credits and shipping to and from Lebanon. He warned that international financial institutions would refrain from cooperating with the country.

In contrast, Dr. Shafiq Al-Masry, expert in international law and constitutional sciences, said that as long as the US sanctions were flexible and vague, “it is not possible to predict how Washington will act regarding [Hezbollah’s] announcement and whether it will impose measures on Lebanon after its sanctions were previously limited to Lebanese individuals and entities.”

“The Iranian ships arrived in Venezuela, that is, the backyard of the United States, and the Americans did not act, just as other ships arrive in Syria under the watchful eye of Washington,” he underlined.

In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, Masry noted that Nasrallah’s saying that the Iranian ship would be considered Lebanese territory from the moment it leaves Iran, “is contrary to the law and customs, for sovereignty is limited to the territorial waters of Lebanon, which are set at 12 km.”

“Otherwise, we are in the territorial waters of other countries in the open sea and there is no doubt that there is no Lebanese sovereignty over them,” he explained.

According to Morcos, “despite Lebanon’s vital need for oil, there are risks that may accompany this process, especially for companies that not only import oil but also unload and distribute the cargo coming from Iran.”

He noted that Lebanon could seek a special exemption from these sanctions, by submitting a request to the US Treasury, which should include “a convincing and justified explanation for the vital need of the Lebanese state for these services.”

Morcos said that Washington had previously provided exemptions to several countries from the sanctions on the import of Iranian oil, such as China, India, South Korea, Turkey, Italy, Japan, Taiwan and Greece.



Houthi Network Recruits Hundreds of Yemenis to Fight in Ukraine

Honoring a Yemeni fighter in the ranks of the Russian forces (local media)
Honoring a Yemeni fighter in the ranks of the Russian forces (local media)
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Houthi Network Recruits Hundreds of Yemenis to Fight in Ukraine

Honoring a Yemeni fighter in the ranks of the Russian forces (local media)
Honoring a Yemeni fighter in the ranks of the Russian forces (local media)

In a nearly one-minute video, a young Yemeni man tells how he and his colleagues traveled to Russia on the promise of lucrative employment in fields such as “security” and “engineering”, but ended up fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
The young man, whose face was covered, expressed with his colleagues their desire to return to Yemen. They said they did not wish to suffer the same fate as their friends and get killed.
Last Sunday, The Financial Times said in a report that Russia’s armed forces have recruited hundreds of Yemeni men to fight in Ukraine, brought by a shadowy trafficking operation that highlights the growing links between Moscow and the Houthi militant group.
Later in video recordings, young Yemeni men spoke about the practice of Houthi smugglers who take advantage of the difficult economic conditions of Yemenis to recruit hundreds of them, and send them to fight alongside Russian troops.
The network of traffickers operate from Yemen and other Arab countries, and coordinate with others within Russian territory.
The Houthi network recruited hundreds of Yemenis and sent them to fight in Russia, according to sources close to their families and others in the Yemeni government.
In one of the videos, a group of Yemeni recruits said they worked in Oman, when a medical equipment company founded by a Houthi politician, Abdulwali Abdo Hassan al-Jabri, lured them by promises of lucrative employment in fields such as “security” and “engineering” in Russia.
They said they were promised a salary of $2,500 per month. But arriving in Moscow, they were received by a representative from the Russian Defense Ministry who told them they will work as security guards at Russian facilities.
Two days after their arrival, the recruits were sent to camps, where they trained for combat and received a salary of between $185 and $232 a month. They are now calling on the Yemeni government to intervene to return them to their country.
But another Yemeni, Ahmed, who is familiar with a group of recruits, explains that he and his friends had warned these young men not to go to Russia where they risk getting involved in the ongoing war.
The recruits told him that they could escape to Europe and seek asylum as hundreds of Yemenis did before.
However, after arriving with the help of a Houthi-linked medical company, many have apparently been coerced into the Russian military, forced to sign fighting contracts at gunpoint and sent to the front lines in Ukraine.
A member of the Yemeni community in Russia told Asharq Al-Awsat that smugglers are luring Yemeni young men to go to Russia to work for salaries of up to $2,500 per month and are then transferred to Arab capitals, including Muscat, Beirut and Damascus, to be then transferred to Russian territory.
After their arrival, he said, the recruits are taken to weapons training camps, allegedly as employees of a security company. But they are later sent to fight on the front lines with Ukraine along with mercenaries from other nationalities.
Activists and members of the Yemeni community in Russia estimate that there are about 300 young Yemenis who refuse to join the fighting in Ukraine and want to return to their country.
“Those men were tempted by the dire economic conditions in Yemen due to the ongoing war,” the activists said.
A Yemeni recruit of the shadowy trafficking operation said that Abdulwali Abdo Hassan al-Jabri, a prominent Houthi politician, is one of the main recruiters. He is assisted by his brother Abdul Waheed, who was appointed by the group as director of Al-Masrakh districts in Taiz Province.
The recruit said that the group of traffickers includes Hani al-Zarriqi, who has been living in Russia for years, and Mohammed al-Iyani, who lives in a Yemeni neighboring country.
Two relatives of the recruits accuse al-Jabri and his aides of arranging the transfer of the young men from Yemen to a neighboring country, and from there to Moscow, on the pretext of working for private security companies. The traffickers receive a commission of between $10 and $15 thousand per person.