(CNN) — United States Special Envoy Tom Barrack sparked outrage after telling Lebanese journalists to act “civilized,” not “animalistic,” during a news conference in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday.

Barrack, joined by deputy envoy Morgan Ortagus, was in the Lebanese capital as part of US efforts to disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. During the briefing, he scolded the journalists for calling out questions simultaneously – a common practice in news conferences – linking their behavior to what he described as a broader “problem” in the Middle East.

“Please, be quiet for a moment. And I wanna tell you something. The moment this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we’re gone. So, you want to know what’s happening? Act civilized, act kind, act tolerant, because this is the problem with what’s happening in the region,” he told the reporters.

Lebanon faces a delicate dilemma. It relies on crucial US support while accommodating Hezbollah, the most powerful armed group in the country, even as it comes under frequent Israeli military attacks.

“Do you think this is fun for us? Do you think this is economically beneficial for Morgan (Ortagus) and I to be here putting up with this insanity?” he told the journalists.

Barrack, who is of Lebanese descent, is the special envoy to Syria and also serves as the US Ambassador to Turkey.

The envoy’s comments angered Lebanese journalists on social media, who described the statements as “racist.”

“Tom Barrack struts into Beirut like a 19th-century colonial commissioner, calls Lebanese journalists ‘animalistic,’ lectures us on ‘civilization,’ & blames it all on our ‘region.’ That’s not just arrogance, it’s racism. You don’t run this country, & you don’t get to insult its people,” Lebanese-British journalist Hala Jaber said on X.

Another journalist, Ali Hashem, called the comments “humiliating.”

“The level of arrogance US officials demonstrate in Lebanon is humiliating for the country.”

The US State Department said the situation had been mischaracterized.

“Amb. Barrack is an excellent representative for the President in the region and is simultaneously spearheading a number of high level and critical issues on behalf of this Administration and the American people,” Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott told CNN in a statement.

Without naming Barrack, the Lebanese presidency said it “regrets the statements made from its platform” by “one of its guests today.”

He is leading a US delegation to Lebanon, including Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Congressman Joe Wilson, and Ortagus.

Barrack cancelled a planned visit to the southern Lebanese town of Khiam and city of Tyre amid protests Wednesday, according to Lebanese state media.

Barrack arrived at the Francois Al-Hajj Army Barracks in the town of Marjayoun aboard a helicopter while the Lebanese Army deployed a large presence in the area to secure the visit and accompany his tour of the region, national news agency NNA reported earlier in the day.

Residents of nearby Khiam protested the visit, condemning what they described as the “biased policies” of the United States, the news agency reported.

Protesters also gathered in front of the government headquarters in the southern coastal city of Tyre denouncing US policies in the region and rejecting Barrack’s visit.

Demonstrators carried signs reading “Israel is absolute evil” and “America is the Great Satan,” according to NNA.

The US has offered Lebanon support if its government disarms Hezbollah. The militant group was weakened significantly after months of an Israeli campaign that was launched after Hezbollah attacked Israeli-held territory in support of Hamas in October 2023.

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