In a post on his X account on Sunday, Spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baqaei denounced comments by Mike Huckabee, who reportedly suggested that it would be acceptable for the Israeli regime to “take it all” and expand from the Nile to the Euphrates.
“Mike Huckabee's postulation that ‘It would be fine' if Israel 'took it all,’ and expand from the Nile to the Euphrates, is a bold testament to American active complicity in Israeli regime's expansionist wars of aggression as well as its colonial genocide of Palestinians,” Baqaei said.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns, along with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), 'such extremist ideological rhetoric' that would only further embolden the occupying regime to persist in its atrocity crimes and illegal measures against Palestinians as well as its constant aggression against the nations of the region,” he added.
The Muslim countries have jointly condemned remarks by Huckabee, a former Baptist minister and a fervent supporter of the Zionist regime.
The backlash widened sharply on Sunday as more than a dozen Arab and Islamic governments – alongside three major regional organizations – issued a joint statement denouncing the US diplomat’s comments as “dangerous and inflammatory”.
The statement, released by the United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry, was signed by the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria and the State of Palestine, as well as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council.
They said the comments contravene the UN Charter and efforts to de-escalate the Gaza war and advance a political horizon for a comprehensive settlement.