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US envoy's meeting with notorious Israeli spy sparks furor

Iran Press TV

Friday, 21 November 2025 12:02 PM

US Ambassador to the Israeli-occupied territories Mike Huckabee secretly met with Jonathan Pollard, the former US Navy intelligence officer convicted of spying for Israel, at the American embassy in al-Quds, a move that has angered prominent Trump supporters and others.

The rendezvous took place in July and was confirmed by Pollard himself and three US officials, according to a Thursday report by The New York Times. The meeting has drawn attention because Pollard spent 30 years in a US prison following a high-profile conviction.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987. While working for US naval intelligence, Pollard had stolen suitcases full of top secret documents and passed them on to Israeli officials.

Israel admitted in the 1990s that Pollard was its agent and granted him citizenship.

He was paroled in November 2015, and moved to the Israeli-occupied lands in late December 2020.

The Times, quoting two unnamed US officials, reported that the meeting was reportedly not on Huckabee's official schedule and happened without the knowledge of US intelligence agencies.

It remains unclear whether Huckabee sought the Trump administration's approval before meeting with Pollard.

According to sources who spoke to The Times, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was "alarmed" by news of the meeting, as it violated the longstanding tradition among US officials of avoiding communication with convicted spies.

The White House has also said it was unaware of the meeting between Huckabee and Pollard.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said that the Trump administration had no advance knowledge of the meeting.

"The president stands by our ambassador, Mike Huckabee, and all that he is doing for the United States and Israel", she asserted.

Meanwhile, a number of distinguished advocates of Trump demanded answers on Thursday about the secret meeting in al-Quds.

"This is shocking behavior from a United States ambassador. Is Huckabee going to explain it?" former Fox News host Tucker Carlson wrote in a post published on the social media platform X.

"Immediately Recall Ambassador Huckabee, He is Out of Control," reacted former White House chief strategist and Breitbart executive chairman Steve Bannon.

"There is no universe where it's appropriate for Mike Huckabee, who is supposed to be OUR AMBASSADOR and serve our country's interest, is meeting with Jonathan Pollard, who to this day encourages spying on the US," political commentator Mike Cernovich protested. He also called for an investigation into the meeting.

Several Democrats, including Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) and former Obama White House staffer Tommy Vietor, also condemned the meeting.

In a televised interview with Israeli i24 News television channel on Thursday, Pollard said the meeting with Huckabee had taken place at his request.

"I had originally requested the interview for a very personal reason," he said.

"I wanted to express my sincere appreciation for all the efforts that he [Huckabee] had expended on my behalf when I was in prison," he added.

Pollard said that he believed someone within the CIA stationed at the US embassy in al-Quds leaked information about the meeting to the media in an "effort to discredit" the ambassador and "have him removed" from his post.

Pollard's espionage affair with Israel long strained relations between Tel Aviv and Washington as two close allies. It is still seen as one of the most damaging breaches of classified information in US history.