Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., abruptly terminated a meeting with Lebanese Chief of Defense Gen. Rodolphe Haykal after the official declined to affirm that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement is a terrorist organization.

Graham expressed his frustration with Lebanon’s situation and Middle Eastern politics in a direct post on X.

“I just had a very short meeting with the Lebanese Chief of Defense General Rodolphe Haykal. I asked him directly if he believes Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. He replied, ‘No, not in the context of Lebanon.’ At that point, I concluded the meeting. They are unequivocally a terrorist organization. Hezbollah is responsible for American deaths. Just ask the U.S. Marines,”

He went on to say, “They have been classified as a foreign terrorist organization by both Republican and Democratic administrations since 1997 – and for valid reason. As long as this perspective persists within the Lebanese Armed Forces, I do not believe they are a reliable partner. I am weary of the double talk in the Middle East. The stakes are excessively high.”

Haykal’s unwillingness to acknowledge Hezbollah as a terrorist group raised significant security concerns among top experts.

Matthew Levitt, a prominent Hezbollah scholar at the Washington Institute, told Digital that, ‘Gen. Haykal’s statement will only heighten worries that the LAF views Hezbollah as an entity to coordinate with, rather than to disarm. The ceasefire agreement explicitly states that Hezbollah must be disarmed across the entire country. There have been multiple cases where the LAF seems to have passed targeting intelligence from Israel, obtained via the US-led mechanism, to Hezbollah instead of utilizing it themselves.”

He further stated, “While the LAF is requesting international assistance, ostensibly to disarm Hezbollah, its failure to identify the group as a threat to both Israel and Lebanon weakens the argument for additional funding.”

Digital submitted several press inquiries to the Lebanese embassy in Washington, D.C.

Sarit Zehavi, a leading Israeli security expert on Hezbollah from the Israel Alma Research and Education Center, told Digital that, “Haykal’s remarks did not surprise me. This is the core issue. Hezbollah is not classified as a terrorist organization in Lebanon. The Lebanese army… is not prepared to confront Hezbollah. Hezbollah will not give up its weapons willingly. This will not occur without a confrontation.”

Zehavi alleged that the Lebanese Armed Forces has “assisted Hezbollah in hiding its military operations and weapon caches in southern Lebanon.”

The U.S. brokered a ceasefire in Nov. 2024 between Hezbollah and Israel. In August, Lebanon’s government agreed to an American proposal to disarm the group by the conclusion of 2025. This deadline appears to have passed unmet.

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Thomas Barrack, who also acts as envoy to Syria, described Lebanon as a “failed state” during a recent Milken Institute event.

Barrack stated, “The confessional system is dysfunctional. A Maronite president, a Sunni prime minister, and a Shia speaker; 128 parliamentary seats divided evenly between Muslims and Christians; everything results in a stalemate.”

He said Hezbollah is “considered a terrorist organization by U.S. standards,” and “it is also a major political party in Lebanon with veto power… The notion that you must disarm Hezbollah … you are not going to achieve that through military means.”

Barrack commented, “The U.S. position is that Hezbollah must be disarmed, that it is a foreign terrorist organization that cannot be allowed to exist. In my view, if you kill one terrorist, you create ten. That cannot be the solution.” He advised the Lebanese political leadership to “rush to Israel and negotiate a deal…there is no alternative.”

Walid Phares, an American academic specialist on Hezbollah and Lebanon who has counseled U.S. presidential candidates, told Digital that “Disarming Hezbollah is not solely a U.S. and international demand but also, and most critically, a demand from a majority of Lebanese since the Cedars Revolution in 2005, when 1.5 million Lebanese Christians, Druze, and Sunnis demonstrated against the Syrian occupation and the Khomeinist militia.”

He added, “Although Assad’s forces pulled out, Hezbollah kept its arms. In May 2008, the radical Shia militia executed an urban military coup against the pro-Western government and held complete control until the Israel-Iran conflict, referred to as the war of 2025. That conflict was triggered by Hezbollah’s support for Hamas during the Oct. 7 war.”

Digital reported in November that increased pressure was being applied on the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah.