Israeli officials deny detaining the right-wing figure, calling the questioning routine and conducted to ensure privacy.

Conservative United States podcaster Tucker Carlson has claimed Israeli authorities briefly took his passport and interrogated one of his crew members at the airport after the presenter conducted an interview with US ambassador Mike Huckabee, according to media reports.

In The Daily Mail and The New York Post, published on Wednesday, Carlson said that shortly after the interview with the diplomat, Israeli officials confiscated his passport and took one of his colleagues off to an interrogation room.

“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 Huckabee about,” Carlson reportedly said.

Israel rejected the reports. Oren Marmorstein, Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said that the former Fox News host was “politely asked a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travellers”.

“The conversation took place in a separate room within the VIP lounge solely to protect their privacy and to avoid conducting such a discussion in public,” he added.

Carlson travelled to Israel and conducted the interview at Ben Gurion International Airport without exiting the complex before returning to the US, Israeli media reported.

There were no comments or statements on the podcaster’s website or social media accounts.

The interview was organised following a public spat between the two about an episode published by Carlson on the treatment of Christians in Israel. Huckabee responded by inviting the presenter to go to Israel and talk to him directly.

The podcaster, one of the most influential voices of the MAGA movement, has grown increasingly critical of Israel. His criticism has created a rift within the Republican party, which has for decades held unified and unequivocal support for Israel.