Trump and Netanyahu are locked in a war with Iran, says the US ambassador to Israel
US President Donald Trump’s man in Jerusalem, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, dismissed reports that a rift has erupted between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the war in Iran and the increase in Israeli troops in Lebanon.
“The truth is that these are two people who respect each other very much, who communicate almost more often than any two world leaders alive today,” Huckabee said in an interview with CBC News.
Huckabee, 70, sat down for an interview at the U.S. Embassy’s satellite facility in Jerusalem a day before Trump signed the U.S. and Iran accord to end the war.
Netanyahu said Israel is not participating in the Iran deal.
The interview followed reports of a tense phone call in which Trump was reportedly frustrated with Netanyahu for his decision to launch another attack on Beirut last Sunday, days after a US-brokered ceasefire deal. In the middle call on June 1the US leader called the Israeli prime minister a “mad king” and urged him not to attack the Lebanese capital.
Netanyahu temporarily agreed. But after a few days – after Hezbollah fired rockets towards northern Israel – he ordered attacks in areas south of BeirutHezbollah stronghold.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee admits he was not present during the profanity-filled phone call between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when Axios reported that Trump called Netanyahu ‘crazy.’ Huckabee says he has called and believes the differences between the two leaders have been overcome.
Huckabee, who said he was not on the phone but has been keeping tabs on his followers, maintains that the two leaders are still close and most of them get along.
“There are many who are interested in the same thing,” he said. “They don’t always agree, but they usually do – and they agree on the ultimate goal, and that Israel is a strong ally of the United States.”
‘Provocation’ in dealing with Iran
Ambassador Huckabee, in one of his first on-camera interviews since the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, acknowledged the growing frustration of the US president in getting Iran to agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war.
“I can see in what he’s saying, there’s frustration, there’s anger,” said Huckabee. “You feel like you’re giving them every opportunity to resolve this matter officially. And they put it down and put it down and delayed it.”
The interview took place on Wednesday, a day after the retaliatory strikes the downing of a US Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, testing a seismic ceasefire.
On social media, the US ambassador said “things may turn sour in the region soon.” Personally, he was a nice person to talk to, but he made it clear that Trump’s patience is running out for negotiations with Iran. “He’s a patient person, but there are limits,” Huckabee said.
No to Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon
In an interview with a conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson In February, Huckabee, a former preacher who calls himself a Christian Zionist, said that it would be “good” if Israel took control of the entire land that Abraham’s descendants were given by God in the book of Genesis, a territory that would include most of today’s Middle East.
But when asked by CBC News if he agrees with the Israeli group called Uri Tzafonadvocating the settlement and construction of permanent Jewish settlements in southern Lebanon, Huckabee was quick to refuse.
“I don’t know anyone in the Israeli government who supports that. Israel has made it clear that it is not interested in taking parts of Lebanon. That is not on the table for them,” he said.
“Some people say that is possible, but there is nothing in the Israeli government that even that is their desire. What Israel would like to have is a peaceful, secure border. Full stop.”
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for a demand the annexation of the territory of Lebanon south of the Litani River.
Israeli forces currently occupy about one-fifth of Lebanon. More than 3,700 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since March 2, when the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah launched an offensive in Lebanon. in Israel following strikes in Iran, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.
Huckabee said he did not know that number but could easily say the number of Israeli soldiers killed by Hezbollah.
“It is very bad. But who is responsible for that? I would say Hezbollah …. Just as Hamas is responsible for the destruction and destruction of Gaza,” he said.
Huckabee and his colleagues at the US State Department are leading the charge peace talks between Israel and Lebanonis bringing together officials from both countries in Washington for rare face-to-face talks, with the next meeting scheduled for June 22.
“The fact that you have Israel and Lebanon in the same room, that alone is historic,” he said.
But while representatives of both governments held regular meetings, the Israeli army and Hezbollah – with reject the ceasefire plan – keep fighting. The United Nations estimates that since the start of the latest war, more than a million Lebanese they were fired.
Canada, other US allies dispute West Bank
Tuesday, Canada, Britain, France, Norway and Australia sanctions announced against several Israeli residents and organizations for inciting and/or contributing to violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-controlled West Bank. It is a move that would have been more agreeable to previous US administrations under Joe Biden but not to the Trump administration.
“Sanctions are unfortunate, they are not timely, and they push one side of the challenge,” Huckabee said.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee says Canada’s decision to punish Israeli settlers and organizations accused of violence against Palestinians was ‘unfortunate’ and ‘ill-timed.’
Attacks on Palestinians have risen sharply since October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 250 others. they are close to 73,000 Palestiniansaccording to the health authorities, and mass displacement and destruction of a large part of the area.
From January 2025 to April 2026, the United Nations has written 2,595 residential attacks against Palestinians in 280 communities across the West Bank resulting in injury or property damage.
One of Trump’s first steps as president when he arrived in the Middle East was to lift all US sanctions on Israeli settlers.
Huckabee agreed that Israel can and should do a better job of preventing settler violence and punishing those who commit acts of violence against the Palestinian people. But he did not say that the US would put pressure on Israel to do so.
Mike Huckabee says he is ‘shocked’ by the killing of a seven-month-old Palestinian baby by an Israeli soldier in the West Bank. The Israeli military said it was investigating.
“Look, if there are terrorist acts committed by the Israelis against the Palestinian people, they should be fully punished,” he said.
But Huckabee accused Canada and other allies of being “out of step” with the US, suggesting they have punished Israel unfairly.
“I mean, they accused Israel of ridiculous things,” he said. “When some of these countries accuse Israel of genocide, that makes no sense.”
