Huckabee presents credentials to Herzog, warns Iran wants to destroy Israel, US

After presenting his letter of credence to President Isaac Herzog, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee says that Iran wants to destroy both Israel and the US.

“It has always been their desire that Israel would be the opening act and then it would be America’s turn to face destruction,” he says. “Or to put in another simple way, Israel is the appetizer and the United States is the entree.”

The Trump administration completed the second round of nuclear talks with Iran on Saturday.

Huckabee, a Baptist minister, says that his appointment by US President Donald Trump is “a calling from God himself.”

“That mission is to stand with the people of Israel for peace and prosperity,” he says, saying support for Israel is a “divine position.”

Comparing Huckabee to the biblical Abraham, Herzog says his appointment as envoy “is a shining reflection of the president’s love, friendship and support for the State of Israel.”

Turning to the Iran threat, Herzog says that Tehran “continues to pursue its radical vision of regional dominance and destabilization — on its own and via its proxies — whilst pursuing nuclear arms and openly calling for the destruction of Israel.”

“I know you, Mike, share both our heartbreak and our absolute resolve to see every last hostage freed from the Hamas dungeons and returned to their loved ones,” says Herzog. “Immediately. Every last one.”