At least two tanker trucks from a convoy of 22 trucks carrying Iranian fuel to Lebanon were hit by a drone strike in Syria on 9 November according to Iraqi officials speaking to Reuters. The trucks had crossed Iraq before entering Syria through the Qaim border crossing. The US military has denied any involvement, but Iran’s state-run Press TV claimed that American drones hit the convoy. Tehran in September offered up to 600,000 tons of fuel over five months (25,400 b/d) to help ease Beirut’s electricity shortages (MEES, 17 September 2021).
Volumes delivered last year consisted of diesel shipped to the Syrian port of Banias; this is the first time such shipments have been reported via Iraq. (CONTINUED - 114 WORDS)