Above photo: X.
Residents of south Lebanon took to the streets in the cities Tom Barrack was due to visit.
A day after the envoy insulted Lebanese journalists during a press conference.
US Envoy Tom Barrack and the US delegation visiting Lebanon canceled a planned trip for a tour in southern Lebanese villages due to protests by supporters of the resistance on 27 August, a day after the envoy insulted journalists at the country’s presidential palace.
📍Tyre, south Lebanon
A protest in front of the Tyre Serail against the planned visit to the city by the US envoy Tom Barrack. The blood of the martyrs will not go in vain. https://t.co/Zjdj9uUzRu— not𝙲ioran (@imnotcioran) August 27, 2025
Several Lebanese media outlets report that Barrack canceled the visit to the south, coinciding with the outbreak of protests in the cities of Tyre (Sur) and Khiam.
يا نواف سماع سماع أرض جنوبي ما بتنباع
— AHMAD SLMAN (@ahmadslmanx) August 27, 2025
According to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), the US envoy arrived in Marjayoun in a Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) helicopter but turned back as calls for protest began. As a result, Lebanese troops deployed across the area.
Photos on social media showed Lebanese citizens holding banners and Hezbollah flags, with the phrase “Barrack is an animal” spray-painted on the street below them – a reference to the US envoy calling Lebanese journalists “animalistic” at a press conference on Tuesday.
The protesters had readied boxes of tomatoes to hurl at the US envoy before news of the cancellation broke.
Barrack’s comments in Baabda drew widespread outrage across Lebanon. The Lebanese Press Editors Syndicate demanded an immediate public apology from Barrack and the US State Department. The envoy scolded reporters for customary journalistic behavior during press conferences, berating them for speaking loudly, calling them “chaotic” and “animalistic,” and urging them to act “civilized.”
The Lebanese protesters in the south also carried signs on Wednesday reading “America is the mother of terrorism,” as well as pictures of Israeli bombs reading “Made in the USA.”
US envoy & @TomBarrackJr cancelled their visit to South Lebanon after people protested it against it 🙂 Funny they want us to disarm & claim to know what is in our interest yet can’t even look at us straight in the eye… instead they go through their agents who, too, cannot even… pic.twitter.com/ieWPBkKMIA
— د (@trhxianl) August 27, 2025
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker and leader of the Amal Movement expressed frustration on 27 August that Barrack, Morgan Ortagus, and the US delegation – which also included staunchly pro-Israel senator Lindsey Graham – “brought nothing from Israel.”
The delegation “came with something contrary to what they had promised us,” Berri said in an interview with Asharq al-Awsat, adding that “Things have once again become complicated.”
A Lebanese Cabinet session to discuss the army’s plan for disarming Hezbollah is set for 2 September.
In response to a question about the cabinet session, Berri said things are “not easy” and stressed that “any matter that leads to dispute in the country is condemned.”
Graham and Ortagus confirmed Washington’s position on 26 August during the press conference in Baabda, affirming that Hezbollah must be disarmed before any discussion to secure Israel’s withdrawal from the country and an end to its daily attacks.
“We’re all greatly encouraged by the historic decision of the government a few weeks ago, but now it’s not about words, now it’s about action,” Ortagus said, adding that Israel is “willing to go step by step, it might be small steps … but they’re willing to go step by step with this government.”
Barrack said that Tel Aviv would “give its counterproposal” on troop withdrawal and security arrangements once it sees “action” from Lebanon.
“Don’t ask me any questions about what Israel is going to do until you disarm Hezbollah,” said Graham.
The Lebanese Cabinet adopted a decision on 5 August to disarm Hezbollah by the end of this year. The LAF is expected to present an implementation plan to the government next week, on 2 September.
Hezbollah has rejected the cabinet decision, and continues to call for dialogue with the state on the formation of a national defense strategy that will see its arms incorporated into the Lebanese army and be available for use if the country is attacked.
The resistance movement is demanding guarantees that such a strategy will be reachable, but refuses to discuss the matter while Israel continues to attack south Lebanon and occupy several positions near the border in violation of the ceasefire.
Over 200 people have been killed by Israel since the ceasefire was reached in November 2024.
