TEHRAN — The Iranian ambassador to Beirut says Tehran is ready to build power plants in Lebanon.

Mohammad Jalal Firuznia made the remarks in a televised program hosted by Al-Manar network on Thursday evening.

According to the Al-Akhbar newspaper, quoting Al-Manar, the ambassador first addressed the issue of Iran's fuel shipments to Lebanon and said the Islamic Republic will not allow the U.S. to keep the Lebanese in starvation through brutal and illegal sanctions.

Highlighting that Tehran will not allow any side in the region and the world at large to prevent fuel delivery, Firuznia said that Iranian fuel tankers will reach their destination and more vessels are on the way.

U.S. has no right to interfere with Iran’s fuel shipment to Lebanon

The diplomat added that the ship would enter Lebanon as part of legitimate trade and that there was no need for other parties to intervene.

He also called U.S. unilateral sanctions against Iran's oil sector "illegal" and stressed that neither the Americans nor others have the right to interfere in the process of sending fuel to Lebanon, noting that this is a matter for Lebanon and Iran to decide.

In another part of his remarks, the ambassador said that Tehran had previously offered assistance to Lebanon to construct power plants in the country but he did not receive a response from the Lebanese government.

Firuznia stated that Iran's proposals and readiness remain in place, and expressed hope that the Lebanese government will respond positively to this proposal.

"Some parties seem to be preventing the Lebanese government from responding to [this proposal]," he said. “We understand the situation in Lebanon, but it is our duty to make such proposals and declare our readiness."

About two weeks ago, the secretary-general of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement announced the departure of Iranian fuel ships to Lebanon.

In a speech on the occasion of Ashura, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that the fuel ships would sail from Iran to Lebanon to resolve the fuel crisis. 

Nasrallah warned the United States and the Zionist regime about attacking Iranian oil ships, stressing that the Lebanese resistance would consider these ships as their country's territory.

Just hours after the Lebanese Hezbollah secretary general's speech, Washington spoke of claims about aiding Lebanon, with the Lebanese presidency announcing in a statement that the U.S. ambassador in Beirut was in contact with the president. 

According to reports, the U.S. has announced a plan to import electricity and gas from Jordan and Egypt to Lebanon.

The move comes as the United States has never made such an offer during Lebanon's year-long crisis, despite its dire need for fuel.

Lebanon has been grappling with a severe economic and political crisis for a year. 

The country was the scene of an explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, which killed more than 190 people and injured 6,500. The explosion plunged Lebanon into a political-economic-social crisis.