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The United States has declared Ibrahim Charara, Lebanon’s consul general in Detroit, persona non grata over old social media posts attributed to him praising Hezbollah’s 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanese media reported.
Lebanon’s Embassy in Washington told Annahar that the State Department had formally notified it of the decision.
Lebanese Foreign Ministry sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Charara was ordered to leave U.S. territory within 48 hours.
Neither the State Department nor Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry had issued an official statement.
A Nov. 2 report by the Washington Free Beacon cited a 2021 post in which Charara allegedly described the attack, which killed 241 American service members, as "heroic resistance" that ended the "American military occupation" of Lebanon "with one blow."
Another post attributed to him read: "From the Marine barracks in Beirut to al-Tanf base, we will reject the occupier and defeat it," referring to the U.S. military presence in Syria.
The report also cited posts praising the 2021 escape of six Palestinian prisoners from Israel’s Gilboa prison, a cover photo on his X account showing a burning Israeli flag and a quote by Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani in his bio.
A source close to the diplomat told L’Orient Today that Charara’s account had been hacked seven years ago and that he did not author the posts. He no longer had "access to the account, its associated email address or the phone number linked to it," the source said, adding that he was given until 8:00 a.m. Sunday to leave.
L’Orient Today found that the account had no posts after 2021, and its bio still listed his previous positions at the Lebanese Embassy in Egypt.
Under Article 23 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, a host state may declare a consular officer persona non grata, requiring the sending state to recall the officer or end their functions.
The move is not a criminal ruling and does not mean the closure of the mission, though Beirut will need to arrange consular services for the community.
The persona non grata decision comes amid strained regional tensions involving Lebanon.
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