US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Thursday that he had cut short a meeting with the chief of staff of the Lebanese army after the latter refused to acknowledge that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization.
“I just had a very brief meeting with the Lebanese Chief of Defense General Rodolphe Haykal. I asked him point blank if he believes Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. He said, ‘No, not in the context of Lebanon.’ With that, I ended the meeting," wrote Graham in a post on social media.
“They are clearly a terrorist organization. Hezbollah has American blood on its hands. Just ask the U.S. Marines," he added.
Graham pointed out that Hezbollah has “been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by both Republican and Democrat administrations since 1997 - for good reason."
“As long as this attitude exists from the Lebanese Armed Forces, I don’t think we have a reliable partner in them. I am tired of the double speak in the Middle East. Too much is at stake," he concluded.
As part of the US-backed ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, the Hezbollah terrorist organization was required to disarm, beginning in areas south of the river that border Israel.
Lebanese authorities charged the Lebanese Armed Forces in August of last year to devise a plan ensuring a state monopoly on arms by year’s end.
Hezbollah, however, has condemned the Lebanese government's plan to disarm the terror organization and has repeatedly vowed to keep its arms.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem recently declared that the terror group will not give up its weapons, warning that such a move would mean "the end of Lebanon."