❗️Washington expels Lebanese Consul General in Detroit over social media post commemorating 1983 Beirut bombing operation The US State Department declared Lebanon's Consul General in Detroit, Ibrahim Sharara, persona non grata on Friday, ordering his immediate departure from US territory by Sunday following the discovery of an old social media post praising Lebanese resistance operations. The expulsion order was issued after a 2021 post resurfaced in which the Lebanese diplomat characterized the 23 October 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut as an act of legitimate resistance against foreign occupation forces. The bombing operation of the military complex resulted in the death of 241 US servicemen and 58 French soldiers. Sharara's expulsion marks an unprecedented diplomatic move targeting Lebanese representation in Michigan, home to the largest Lebanese diaspora community in the United States.