The US Embassy branch in Tel Aviv suffered minor damage from an Iranian ballistic missile overnight Sunday, according to US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
“Some minor damage from shock waves of Iranian missile hits near Embassy Branch in Tel Aviv but no injuries to US personnel,” he wrote on X.
It is not clear whether the embassy was the target of the missile.
Iran has been indiscriminately striking civilian areas in Israel, including Tel Aviv, Haifa and Bnei Barak, since the IDF and Mossad destroyed several of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites as part of Operation Rising Lion.
Huckabee noted American embassies and consulates in the country remain closed, with a shelter-in-place order still in effect.
The US moved its embassy to Jerusalem under the first Trump administration in 2018, but still maintains a branch office in central Tel Aviv.
Huckabee said on Saturday that Iran was not only targeting Israelis with rocket fire, but also threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of American citizens living in the Jewish state.
“If you hear ‘Israel is no concern to USA’ remember 700,000 Americans live in Israel. That is equivalent to a full House District,” he tweeted.
The damage to the consulate has raised concerns that the US could be drawn further into the conflict, with President Trump’s position currently somewhat unclear.
While he praised the Israeli attacks in Iran as “excellent”, Trump has also repeatedly called for a diplomatic solution to the problem of Iran’s nuclear programme and reports last week suggested that he had tried to discourage Israel from taking unilateral military action.
The president’s America First foreign policy platform also generally aims to end wars by any means necessary – sometimes at the expense of allies as in the case of the Russo-Ukrainian War – and is characterised by a significant resistance to involving US troops in foreign conflicts.
However, strong support for Israel, including supplying arms to the Jewish State, is also a key part of Washington’s approach and Trump has repeatedly emphasised the strength of the White House’s relationship with Jerusalem.
In his latest post on his Truth Social site, Trump seemed to indicate a preference for diplomacy, saying: “Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal... we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran.
"Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN.”
