Tucker Carlson Insists He Was Detained at Israeli Airport, Claims Employee Was 'Hauled' Into Interrogation Room

Tucker Carlson insists he was detained at an Israeli airport following an interview with Donald Trump's ambassador to the country.

"Men who identified themselves as airport security took our passports, hauled our executive producer into a side room and then demanded to know what we spoke to Ambassador [Mike] Huckabee about," he told an outlet on Wednesday, February 18.

"It was bizarre," the former Fox News host added. "We’re now out of the country."

However, a spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Israel slammed Carlson's accusation that he was was detained.

They claimed he "received the same passport control questions that countless visitors to Israel including Ambassador Huckabee and other diplomats receive as part of normal entrance and exit from Israel."

Carlson, 56, reportedly jetted to Tel Aviv via private plane after Huckabee, 70, challenged the political commentator to speak to him in person amid a heated online exchange about Israel's treatment of Christians.

Prior to their interview on Wednesday, Carlson shared a photo of himself alongside his business partner, Neil Patel, in front of Ben Gurion Airport on X. "Greetings from Israel," he captioned the snap.

The podcast host, however, caught flack for reportedly failing to leave the airport during his short visit.

"Too bad Tucker stayed in the airport in the face of so many invitations to see so many wonderful places. A huge and obviously intentional missed opportunity," said David Friedman, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel during Trump's first term, in response to Carlson's post.

Though insiders told the outlet that the Israeli government was resistant to letting Carlson enter the country, but ultimately provided him access to avoid a "diplomatic incident."

The same spokesperson denied the allegations, saying "the only engagement the Embassy had with Israel about his visit was to coordinate his private plane landing as part of facilitating a seamless visit."

"It was Tucker who chose to only come into the country for a few hours and depart," they added. "And Tucker received the same positive treatment of any visitors to Israel."

The incident comes after Carlson declared on his show last week that Huckabee wasn't providing proper protection for Christians in the country.

The ambassador responded to the accusations on X, writing "Instead of talking about me, why don’t you come talk to me?"

"You seem to be generating a lot of heat about the Middle East. Why be afraid of the light?" he added.