ATLANTA - CNN fired Middle East affairs correspondent Octavia Nasr after she posted a 'Tweet' expressing her admiration for a late Lebanese Muslim cleric.

"Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadallah," Nasr wrote. "[He was] one of Hezbollah's giants I respect a lot."

Dan Gainor of the Media Research Center Appeared on CBN Newschannel's Morning program for more insight on the story.

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Fadallah, Lebanon's grand ayatollah, died on Sunday after a prolonged illness. The outspoken anti-American cleric was considered an inspiration to the Hezbollah terror group. 

Fadallah was also linked to bombings that killed more than 260 Americans, a claim he denied.

Criticism from media outlets and others, including the Simon Weisenthal Center, prompted an apology from Nasr.

"It was an error of judgment for me to write such a simplistic comment, and I'm sorry because it conveyed that I supported Fadallah's life work. That is not the case at all," she wrote.

Fadallah, she wrote, was "revered across borders, yet designated a terrorist. Not the kind of life to be commenting about in a brief tweet. It's something I deeply regret."

Nasr said her admiration stemmed from Fadlallah's attitude toward women's rights. He had issued edicts banning so-called "honor killing" of women and giving women the right to hit their husbands if attacked first.

Despite her apology, CNN Senior Vice President for international newsgathering Parisa Khosravi said Nasr's remarks compromised her credibility. "We have decided that she will be leaving the company," Khosravi said in a memo.

A 20-year veteran of CNN, Nasr worked at the agency's headquarters in Atlanta, appearing occasionally on screen as an analyst of Middle East news.

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AP contributed to this report.