Ron Dermer, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., on Monday denounced former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s (R) comments criticizing the nuclear deal with Iran, in which the presidential candidate invoked the Holocaust.
“I would never use those words, and I don’t think it’s appropriate,” Dermer told USA Today about Huckabee’s remark.
Huckabee made his original comments to Breitbart News on Saturday while criticizing the nuclear deal with Iran, and has since refused to apologize for the remark.
“This president’s foreign policy is the most feckless in American history. It is so naive that he would trust the Iranians. By doing so, he will take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven,” Huckabee said on Saturday.
Dermer told USA Today, that while he does not support the nuclear deal that the U.S. has reached with Iran, he does not believe that the Obama administration thinks the deal will pose a threat to Israel.
“Look, we have a very serious disagreement with the administration on a very serious issue,” he said. “But what I don’t doubt is the sincerity of the president or his team when they say they believe this deal not only makes America safe but makes Israel safe. Where we disagree is the judgment of actually what this deal is going to do.”
“We don’t in any way impugn the motives of the people who are doing this deal,” Dermer continued. “I think it’s important to conduct this debate in a way that’s befitting of the alliance between our two countries.”
