US envoy cuts Lebanon trip short after protests over Hezbollah disarmament push

US envoy Tom Barrack has cut short his visit to southern Lebanon, according to the country’s state-run National News Agency, amid protests and growing backlash against Washington’s pressure campaign to disarm Hezbollah.

Barrack, who also serves as the US ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy for Syria, flew by helicopter to a Lebanese army barracks in Marjayoun near the Israeli border on Wednesday. Troops were deployed ahead of his arrival, but visits to nearby Khiam — a town destroyed during past fighting between Israel and Hezbollah — and the coastal city of Tyre were cancelled.

The cutback comes a day after Barrack’s comments to journalists in Beirut sparked outrage. On Tuesday, following a meeting with President Joseph Aoun, he told reporters to “act civilised” as they pressed him with questions. He added he would stop speaking if things “start becoming chaotic, like animalistic,” comparing the scene to unrest in the wider Middle East.

Critics accused him of a colonial attitude, and Lebanon’s presidency later issued regret over the remarks.

Protests also broke out in Tyre. Bilal Kashmar, an official with the union of southern municipalities, said dozens gathered to oppose Barrack’s visit and denounce Washington’s “biased policies.”

The unrest came just as Barrack announced that Lebanon’s government would present a Hezbollah disarmament plan in the coming days. That follows a cabinet order last month instructing the army to prepare a plan by year’s end, under US pressure and Israeli threats of further escalation.

But Hezbollah has flatly rejected the idea. Its deputy leader Naim Qassem said Israel must withdraw from Lebanese territory and halt its strikes before any discussion on disarmament can begin.

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah flared after the October 7, 2023 attacks on Gaza and Israel’s subsequent war in the enclave. Although a ceasefire was reached in November 2024, Israel has continued near-daily strikes in Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah and the Lebanese government of failing to comply with the deal.