U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said in a newly released interview that Israel has a biblical claim to extensive areas of the Middle East, while emphasizing that the country is not pursuing territorial expansion beyond its current sovereignty.

In an appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show that was released Friday, Huckabee cited Bereishis 15:18, referencing the posuk in which Hashem promises Avrohom Avinu that his descendants would inherit territory stretching “from the Nile to the Euphrates.”

During the discussion, host Tucker Carlson remarked that such a description would imply that Israel could lay claim to “basically the entire Middle East,” including present-day Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, as well as parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Huckabee pushed back on that interpretation, responding, “Not sure we’d go that far,” and adding, “It would be a big piece of land.”

BREAKING: US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee tells Tucker Carlson that Israel has the Biblical right to take over all of the Middle East.

“It would be fine if they took it all.” pic.twitter.com/BN4fXh03ga

— Tucker Carlson Network (@TCNetwork) February 20, 2026

When Carlson followed up by asking, “Does Israel have the right to that land?” Huckabee answered, “It would be fine if they took it all.”

Despite those comments, Huckabee made clear that Israel is not attempting to seize control of the broader region. He said that the Jewish state’s focus is on maintaining its right to exist and to live securely within the territory currently under Israeli sovereignty.