Washington Moves to Distance Itself from Ambassador’s Remarks in Tel Aviv
Tehran - BORNA - The uproar began after Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to the occupied territories, claimed in a media interview that the Israeli regime has a “religious right,” based on “biblical promises,” to dominate large parts of the Middle East. The remarks quickly turned into a new crisis for the team of Donald Trump, the President of the United States.
According to Politico, informed sources reported intense consultations between senior U.S. administration officials and several Arab countries following the controversy. The report states that senior officials in the Trump administration have held extensive calls in recent days with Arab states to address their concerns over Huckabee’s remarks and to contain growing anger in the Arab world.
Three informed individuals, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that during these calls, officials including Christopher Landau, Deputy Secretary of State, and Allison Hooker, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, told concerned countries that Huckabee’s comments in his interview with Tucker Carlson, the American podcaster, merely reflected his personal views and did not signal any change in official U.S. policy.
In the interview with Carlson, a former Fox News host, Huckabee responded to a question about interpretations by some Christian Zionist circles of biblical promises granting land “from the Nile to the Euphrates” to the Israelites by saying, “If they take all of it, that’s fine.”
These remarks, widely interpreted as recognizing the Israeli regime’s right to territorial expansion into Arab countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria, triggered a wave of anger and condemnation across the Arab and Islamic worlds.
According to Politico, the controversy comes at a sensitive time, as the Trump administration is seeking to rally Arab countries behind its proposed plans for Gaza reconstruction and to strengthen an anti-Iran front. Senior U.S. officials reportedly reminded Arab leaders during their calls that President Trump had personally promised them he would prevent the annexation of the West Bank by the Israeli regime.
A senior diplomat from a Persian Gulf country told Politico that the remarks could undermine one of the Trump administration’s key objectives — integrating the Israeli regime into West Asia. The diplomat stressed: “The sovereignty of Arab countries is not something to joke about, especially at a time when we are trying to build a united Middle East that includes Israel.”
Following the controversy, the U.S. Embassy in occupied Jerusalem issued a statement claiming that Huckabee’s remarks had been taken “out of context.” Huckabee himself also criticized Carlson on the social media platform X, accusing the media of failing to present the “full context” of his comments.
However, a senior U.S. State Department official, speaking anonymously to Politico, emphasized: “He (Huckabee) does not represent our views, nor does he represent the best version of a pro-Israel position.”
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