Iranian officials told a Lebanese technical delegation visiting Tehran that Iran could offer Lebanon 600,000 tonnes of fuel over five months to help ease its power shortages, Lebanese TV station Al-Manar reported.
If the fuel deal goes through, it would be Iran's first supply of fuel directly to the Lebanese State after it previously sent some to its ally, Hezbollah, a powerful armed movement that is part of Lebanon's coalition government, Reuters reports.
Lebanon has struggled with outages for decades, but its economic meltdown since 2019 has drained state coffers, slowing down imports of fuel for government plants.
That has left most of the country with just one or two hours of state-provided electricity per day and forced households to rely on subscriptions to private generators that have skyrocketed as global fuel prices spiked.
Iran, earlier this month, offered Lebanon a "gift" of fuel in the specifications required to run Lebanese power plants, sources told Reuters, with no details on the type of fuel
Iran's embassy in Beirut said the fuel ships could be in Lebanon within two weeks.
Local television station, Al-Manar, reported that Tehran had offered 600,000 tonnes to be delivered over five months. A source from the Energy Ministry confirmed the amount and said the deal would likely be finalised in the next few days.