Huckabee remarks fuel Arab and Muslim anger as Israel braces for possible Iran strike

wcbm.com · Feb 22, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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On Sunday, U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said that Israel has the right to much of the Middle East escalating tensions with Arab and Muslim countries who objected to these comments. Following the uproar, the U.S. said Huckabee’s comments were taken out of context. During an interview with conservative commentator, Tucker Carlson on Friday, Huckabee said “it would be fine” if Israel “took all” of the land in the Middle East after Carlson referenced a Bible passage. Carlson’s reference stated that according to the Bible, the descendants of Abraham would receive land that today includes much of the Middle East, including parts of modern-day Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. On Sunday a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy said Huckabee’s comments were taken out of context and that there is no change to U.S. policies on Israel. They’re not asking to go back and take all of that, but they are asking to at least take the land that they now occupy, they now live in, they now own legitimately, and it is a safe haven for them,” Huckabee said in the interview adding that Israel is just trying to protect its own people. This comes as tensions remain high in Israel as the country prepares for a possible attack from Iran. Threats of an Iranian attack on both Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East remain after President Donald Trump warned that limited strikes against Iran are possible despite the country’s top diplomat saying Tehran expects to have a proposed deal ready following nuclear talks with the U.S. Additional U.S. warships and airplanes have moved to the region. While they do not guarantee a U.S. strike on Iran, they instead serve as a threat of Trump’s ability to carry out an attack if he chooses to do so. Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that if Iran attacks Israel, they will risk a “response that they cannot even imagine.”