‘Israel is only the appetizer’: Huckabee warns Iran threat looms as Netanyahu eyes Trump talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking a gathering with President Donald Trump arsenic Israeli officials pass that caller Iranian rocket drills could beryllium utilized arsenic screen for a astonishment attack, raising caller urgency astir Tehran’s atomic ambitions and subject posture up of the expected Dec. 29 talks.

Those concerns were echoed publically connected Monday by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who warned that Iran’s atomic ambitions and subject posture airs a nonstop menace not lone to Israel but besides to the United States and Europe.

Speaking Monday astatine the Israel Institute for National Security conference, Huckabee said President Donald Trump has maintained a accordant reddish enactment connected Iran. "All I tin bash is constituent retired to you what the president has said repeatedly, and helium consistently has said Iran is ne'er going to enrich uranium, and they’re not going to person a atomic weapon," helium said.

ISRAELI PRESIDENT ISAAC HERZOG THANKS TRUMP FOR 'HISTORIC' IRAN STRIKE

A constabulary serviceman stands defender arsenic demonstrators question flags and cheer during a gathering to grant Iran’s subject forces, pursuing the announcement of a ceasefire betwixt Israel and Iran, connected June 24, 2025 successful Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

"It presents a threat, but not conscionable to Israel, not conscionable to the United States. This presents a existent menace to each of Europe," helium added. "And if the Europeans don’t recognize this, past they’re adjacent dumber than I sometimes deliberation they are."

Huckabee suggested successful his interrogation that Iran whitethorn not person taken that connection earnestly until U.S. subject enactment earlier this year. "I don’t cognize that they ever took him earnestly until the nighttime that the B-2 bombers went to Fordow," Huckabee said. "I anticipation they got the message, but seemingly they didn’t get the afloat connection because, arsenic you person mentioned, they look to beryllium trying to reconstitute and find a caller mode to excavation the spread deeper and unafraid it more," helium said astatine the conference.

Huckabee besides framed Iran’s long-standing threats arsenic fundamentally aimed astatine Washington. "Iran has threatened America for 46 consecutive years, from 1979, erstwhile the ayatollahs took power," helium said. "They’ve ever said, Death to Israel, decease to America. In the aforesaid sentence."

"Israel is lone the appetizer due to the fact that you’re closer, and you’re an easier people than the immense geographical expanse that represents the United States," Huckabee continued. "But they’ve ne'er hidden the information that the existent entrée, their eventual goal, is to destruct the United States."

HEGSETH, PENTAGON BRASS PRAISE TRUMP'S 'SPECTACULAR' MILITARY SUCCESS IN IRAN NUCLEAR STRIKES

A drone presumption shows an impacted residential site, pursuing an aboriginal greeting rocket onslaught from Iran connected Israel, successful Be'er Sheva, Israel June 24, 2025.  (Yonatan Honig/REUTERS)

The remarks travel amid heightened interest successful Israel implicit caller Iranian subject activity. According to Axios, Israeli officials warned the Trump medication implicit the play that an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps rocket workout "could beryllium preparations for a onslaught connected Israel," citing 3 Israeli and U.S. sources with cognition of the issue. One Israeli root told Axios that portion quality presently shows unit movements wrong Iran, Israel’s tolerance for hazard is acold little than it was earlier Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

A elder Israeli authoritative told Fox News Digital connected inheritance that interest implicit the Iranian drills is rooted successful past alternatively than speculation. "Iran is doing drills. A interest that the drill volition go a astonishment onslaught is simply a existent interest based connected history. The Yom Kippur War started that way. I punctual you, we shouldn’t disregard it," the authoritative said.

The root dismissed speculation that the drills awesome imminent coordinated subject enactment with Washington. "If we were readying an onslaught with the U.S., it astir apt wouldn’t marque it into the media," the authoritative said.

UN NUCLEAR CHIEF SAYS IRAN HAS MATERIAL TO BUILD BOMBS, BUT NO PLAN TO DO SO

U.S. President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arsenic helium arrives astatine the White House for a gathering connected April 7, 2025 successful Washington, DC. (Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

The authoritative acknowledged that the Iranian enactment has besides shifted Israel’s home governmental conversation, including statement implicit draught evasion legislation. "The headlines successful Israel are present astir the Iranian menace alternatively of the bill," the authoritative said. "Is it spin? Is determination thing special? Is determination truth? Maybe. But we ever request to beryllium prepared."

NBC News reported connected Saturday that Netanyahu plans to usage his gathering with Trump to reason that Iran’s renewed enlargement of its ballistic rocket programme poses a increasing menace that could necessitate swift action. According to the report, Netanyahu is expected to stress that Iran’s activities endanger not lone Israel but besides broader determination stableness and U.S. interests.

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Iranians pain American flags during an anti-U.S. objection extracurricular the erstwhile U.S. embassy office successful Tehran, Iran, connected Wednesday, May 9, 2018.   (Photographer: Ali Mohammadi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

NBC reported that Netanyahu is expected to contiguous Trump with respective options, including imaginable U.S. engagement oregon support, should Israel find that further subject enactment against Iran is necessary.

Asked Thursday astir a imaginable Dec. 29 gathering with Netanyahu, Trump told reporters, "We haven’t acceptable it up formally, but he’d similar to spot me." Israeli officials person announced that a gathering is planned for Dec. 29.

Fox News Digital reached retired to Netanyahu's spokesperson but did not get a response.