Trump is no chump and won't allow slaughter in Iran, says US ambassador to Israel

America's ambassador to Israel has told Sky News that the United States has no plans to launch a military attack against Iran - but admitted that those plans could change.

Mike Huckabee told me that Hamas carried full responsibility for the suffering of the people of Gaza and severely criticised nations, including Britain, that had recognised the state of Palestine, saying the decision had been "very damaging" and was simply "grandstanding". Mr Huckabee insisted that final decisions about any military action against Iran would be made by President Trump and his cabinet, but confirmed that, as we spoke, there was no attack planned.

Iran latest: US airstrikes 'on the table' "Those are decisions that are going to be made in Washington by the president, by the secretary of war, but I'm not hearing anything at this point where America is preparing to engage militarily," he said. "Right now, it's really a matter of watching what is, an organic movement coming up from very, very disgruntled, rightfully so, Iranian people who have decided that they can't keep going on like this." Mr Huckabee, who was nominated to his role by Donald Trump shortly after his election in 2024, maintained that "we have a president that would rather never use military power" but said that Mr Trump's restraint could end if the Iranian regime kept killing protesters.

"He would just rather never have to deploy it. This president is not a chump.

He is not going to watch people slaughtered. He will intervene when it's necessary and he will deal with those who do horrific things." Mr Huckabee told me that America's attacks on Iran last year had been a warning that "you're not going to have a nuclear weapon and you're not going to enrich uranium - they didn't believe it.

I hope they do now." He said that the fall of the Iranian regime would be celebrated as the end of the "very harsh rule of the ayatollahs - when they came in, they pretty much destroyed everything. And it's been a hellhole since.