U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Wednesday dismissed Iranian demands for Israel to halt airstrikes and pull out of Lebanon, escalating a war of words over the region's fragile ceasefire.
In a sharp post on social media platform X, Huckabee accused Tehran of ordering Israel to stop defending its border against Hezbollah. He proposed a provocative solution: deport every member of Hezbollah and Hamas to Iran, calling it a way to free Lebanon and Israel from Iranian-backed proxies. “Give PEACE a chance!” he wrote.
The pushback comes as tensions simmer over a 14-point memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at ending the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. Huckabee has argued that the deal does not cover Hezbollah, even though it calls for an immediate and permanent halt to military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi countered that the ceasefire places “particular emphasis on Lebanon” and warned that any continued occupation of Lebanese territory would be considered a violation.
Adding to the friction, the Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters—the operational arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—issued a stark warning on Tuesday via state-run Fars News Agency. It told Israel to stop what it called repeated ceasefire violations in Lebanon or face a harsh response from Iran’s Armed Forces.
Huckabee, however, has made clear that Israel does not need Tehran’s permission to defend itself. His stance aligns with that of Israeli officials, who have openly rejected the U.S.-brokered agreement. Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Monday that the military will remain in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza until all terrorist infrastructure is destroyed. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir went further, declaring on X that “Trump’s agreement does not bind us” and asserting Israel’s sovereignty.
President Donald Trump, speaking at the Group of Seven summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, downplayed the rift. He called Hezbollah “that little pinprick out there that constantly rears its head” and expressed confidence the deal would hold despite continued Israeli strikes. Still, he criticized the scale of Israel’s operations, saying, “You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody.”
The dispute underscores a growing divide between Washington and Jerusalem over how to handle Iran and its proxies. While Trump touts progress on the Iran deal and pushes Netanyahu on Lebanon, Israeli leaders are signaling they will not be bound by terms they see as too lenient. For a deeper look at how this clash is playing out, read our analysis on the widening rift between Trump and Netanyahu over the Iran deal.
Meanwhile, Huckabee’s blunt rhetoric and the defiance from Israeli hardliners suggest that the path to a stable ceasefire remains fraught. As one Israeli official put it, the country is not subject to the United States—it is an independent and sovereign nation. For more on the broader context of these tensions, see our report on the secret Iran deal that sparked clashes between Hezbollah and Israel.
