US cancels meeting with Lebanese army chief over statement on Israel's attacks on country

The US cancelled meetings with Lebanese armed forces commander General Rudolf Haykal after it objected to  the army issuing a statement on Sunday that Israel had violated Lebanese sovereignty, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing Lebanese officials familiar with the matter said.

Haykal was due to arrive in Washington on Tuesday for meetings on "military assistance and border-security cooperation".

In the statement, the army accused Israel of "insisting on violating Lebanese sovereignty, causing instability and obstructing the army's deployment in the south".

Several Republican lawmakers had called for the cancellation of the meeting in recent days, including Lindsey Graham and Joni Ernst.