| Sanctions? What sanctions? First the gas pipeline deal With Iraq and Syria, now this. |
Leb's cabinet on Wednesday approved a memorandum of understanding with Iran to help Beirut pursue oil and gas oil exploration, a Lebanese government source told the Beirut-based Daily Star newspaper. "The cabinet approved a [memorandum] between the Lebanese and Iranian energy ministries," Information Minister Walid Daouq told news hounds. Leb's cabinet is dominated by members of Hezbullies's March 8 coalition. The Islamist movement's Al-Manar satellite channel reported the agreement to be worth $50 million.
Leb has threatened to complain to the UN over the recent maritime border demarcation between Israel and Cyprus, which allows the two countries to exploit natural resources within their respective areas of illusory sovereignty. In signing the agreement, however, Leb may be violating UN Security Council sanctions against the Islamic Theocratic
Republicand could incur a condemnation from the world body, the Ya Libnan website reported.
Meanwhile,
...back at the ranch, Butch and the Kid finally brought their horses under control...
an Iranian parliamentary delegation toured Leb's border with Israel, the Daily Star reported, including a stop at the now-closed Fatima Gate between the neighboring states. The five-member delegation reportedly visited the gate -- a border crossing during Israel's occupation of southern Leb that closed in 2000 -- shortly after Israeli troops conducted repair work on the border fence. The Iranians reportedly drove to Khiam, a former Israeli detention center in southern Leb. Air strikes in the 2006 war severely damaged the former prison, which has since become a popular Hezbullies-run museum displaying military vehicles captured during the conflict.
"During the morning tour, the delegation inspected a number of towns in southern Leb as well as roads that Iran helped build following the 2006 war," the newspaper reported. "Iran has carried out between 40 and 50 projects across southern Leb, including the establishment of new roads and mosques.