The United States has ordered Lebanon’s consul general in Detroit, Ibrahim Charara, to leave the country over social media posts attributed to him that praised the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, a State Department spokesman said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the move on Saturday, with the State Department designating Charara persona non grata following reports that he had described the attack as a “heroic resistance” that ended the “American military occupation” of Beirut.

“The Lebanese Consul in Detroit has been designated persona non grata,” the department said in a statement. “A visa is a privilege, not a right. Anyone in the United States who celebrates or justifies terrorist attacks has no place in our country.”

The spokesman said the department regularly reviews information about foreign mission personnel accredited to the United States, including potential national security concerns, and takes action in accordance with U.S. law and international obligations.

“Terrorists murdered Americans and our colleagues in the bombings of the U.S. Embassy compounds in Beirut in 1983 and 1984. We will never forget them,” the statement said.

The social media posts, cited by several news outlets but no longer available on X, were attributed to an account bearing Charara’s name and the handle @IbrahimChararaa. The account has been inactive since November 2021.

In one post, reportedly published on Nov. 23, 2021, Charara wrote: “On this day, the heroic resistance to the American military occupation of Beirut ended with a single strike that documents the defeat of neocolonialism on our land.”

Another post reportedly referred to the U.S. military presence at al-Tanf in Syria, saying: “From the Marines barracks in Beirut to the Al-Tanf base... we will reject the occupier and defeat him.” The message appeared to refer to a purported Iranian and Hezbollah drone attack targeting American troops at the base in 2021.

The posts drew attention because of the scale of the October 23, 1983, bombing, in which suicide bombers drove explosive-laden trucks into compounds housing multinational forces in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War. The attack killed 241 U.S. service members, including 220 Marines, as well as 58 French soldiers and six civilians, and wounded more than 100 others. Hezbollah has been widely blamed for the bombing, although the attack has also been described in reports as attributed to the Iran-backed group.

The State Department also cited the separate bombings of the U.S. Embassy compounds in Beirut in 1983 and 1984, which killed about 60 employees and Lebanese civilians.

Charara was appointed Lebanon’s consul general in Detroit on Sept. 25, 2025. He had previously served at Lebanon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants since June 2016, including as foreign minister to Egypt in 2021, when the posts were reportedly published.

His diplomatic role placed him at the center of numerous Arab American gatherings across the greater Detroit area, including cultural and political events. His appearance at a rally for Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed has also been cited by Republicans and pro-Israeli activists.