Overview

• Tom Barrack told Beirut reporters the briefing would end if it became “chaotic, like animalistic,” urging them to “act civilized,” a comment widely denounced by Lebanese media groups.
• On Thursday, Barrack apologized, calling the word choice inappropriate and saying he did not intend it derogatorily, adding that he should have been more patient with the press.
• Lebanon’s state news agency reported his planned visits to Khiam and Tyre were canceled after protests, with a brief stop confined to an army barracks in Marjayoun.
• The Lebanese presidency expressed regret for remarks made from its podium, media unions demanded accountability and floated boycotts, and the U.S. State Department initially defended Barrack.
• Barrack’s trip centered on a U.S.-backed push for Hezbollah’s disarmament, including talk of a Gulf-funded economic zone in the south, a plan Hezbollah rejects without full Israeli withdrawal and an end to ongoing strikes.