US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee says he is “very optimistic” that additional countries in the Middle East will soon join the Abraham Accords and establish formal relations with Israel, Al Jazeera reports.

Many Arab states, however, remain incensed by Israel’s wide-ranging military campaigns in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, and most recently Iran.

Huckabee, at a speech in Israel, seeks to shore up US support for the war on Iran, suggesting, “Israel is the appetiser, America has always been the entree” for Iran’s theocracy.

“The Gulf states now understood they will have to make a choice — is it more likely they will be attacked by Iran or Israel?” Huckabee says. “They see that Israel helped us and Iran attacked us. Israel is not trying to take over your land and is not sending missiles to you.”