Overview
- Sen. Lindsey Graham said he cut short talks with Lebanese Chief of Defense Gen. Rodolphe Haykal after Haykal declined to call Hezbollah a terrorist group, saying it was not so "in the context of Lebanon."
- Calling Hezbollah a U.S.-designated terrorist organization since 1997, Graham questioned whether the Lebanese Armed Forces are a reliable partner and raised doubts about continued U.S. support.
- Security expert Matthew Levitt warned Haykal’s stance could weaken the case for further LAF funding, citing concerns the army treats Hezbollah as a group to deconflict with rather than disarm.
- Haykal met other senior U.S. figures, including Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, House Foreign Affairs leaders Brian Mast and Gregory Meeks, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, and officials at the CIA, Pentagon and National Security Council.
- Amid the ceasefire’s phased plan, the LAF says it completed removing Hezbollah from south of the Litani River, Hezbollah rejects disarmament elsewhere, and congressional voices remain split, with the House Foreign Affairs Committee calling the LAF a critical partner that must continue the five‑phase effort.