In an apparent warning to the Zionist regime and the U.S., Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced on Thursday morning that a ship carrying Iranian fuel will set sail for Lebanon within hours, saying the resistance movement would regard this vessel and other tankers to carry Iranian fuel as Lebanese territory.

“I would like to announce that the arrangements for the first ship to depart Iran have been completed and the vessel will set sail within hours,” Nasrallah said in a televised address commemorating Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Imam of Shia Muslims, Press TV reported.

The ship will be carrying diesel since it is a top priority for the Lebanese people’s livelihoods, Nasrallah said, promising that it will be followed by other ships carrying more fuel. “We do not accept the humiliation of our people.”

“From the moment the ship begins to sail, [Hezbollah] will consider it Lebanese soil,” he said, warning the enemies against challenging Hezbollah on the matter.

The Hezbollah chief also thanked Iran for standing beside the Lebanese people over the past years.

According to Nasrallah, Iran has refrained from interfering in Lebanese affairs over the last four decades, despite standing by the side of the Lebanese people.

“Our decisions are our own. We are not the tools and slaves of others, as some are.”

The Hezbollah chief had already voiced willingness on a number of occasions to import Iran’s oil to counter Lebanon’s dire fuel shortage, in case the government fails to deal with the crisis.

On Sunday, he said Hezbollah would “definitely” import fuel from Iran, and would do so “in broad daylight, not at night.”

The small Mediterranean country has, since 2019, been paralyzed by a major financial crisis, which has cut the value of its currency by more than 90 percent, eliminated jobs, and made banks freeze accounts.

Nasrallah’s Thursday comments come as tensions run high between Israel and Iran in the aftermath of an alleged attack against the Israeli-managed Mercer Street tanker off Oman in July, after which Israel, the U.S. and Britain quickly blamed Iran and threatened a “response.” Tehran, however, rejected the accusation as “baseless” and “childish.”