US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee tells Channel 12 the embassy was surprised when some airlines canceled flights to Israel as a result of the tensions with Iran earlier this month.
“Last weekend, airlines from around the world started canceling their flights, and honestly, our reaction at the embassy was, ‘what’s that about?’,” he says in an interview.
“It completely caught us off guard,” he adds. “We are not seeing any reason. We are not telling our embassy employees to restrict themselves to your homes, don’t go anywhere.”
Huckabee says that he does not know the timeline for a potential US attack against Iran, nor if “Iran will decide to initiate something” against Israel.
But he stresses that at the moment, he is not hearing US President Donald Trump refer to a deadline or ultimatum on the decision, and says that Israelis should go on with their lives, “and if the sirens go off, respond.”
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From the Liveblog of
Saturday, January 31, 2026
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