In the aftermath of the Suez Crisis, Yafi pressured President Chamoun to officially sever ties with France and Grand Britain in alignment with Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's demands. He resigned along with oil minister Saeb Salam on 16 November 1958 in protest against Chamoun's refusal to do so. Later during the 1958 Lebanon Crisis, Yafi joined ranks with Saeb Salam, Kamal Jumblatt, and Rashid Karami in support of Arab nationalist rebels fighting to dissolve Lebanon into Gamal Abdel Nasser's United Arab Republic.