Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) discussed their “mutual commitment” to countering radical Islam and advancing Middle East peace during a meeting in Washington on Tuesday, according to a readout from Jerusalem.
“Always good to meet, dear friend,” Jerusalem’s top diplomat stated. “We appreciate the Senator’s friendship and unwavering support for Israel!”
The conversation with Graham was one of several diplomatic meetings Sa’ar convened with lawmakers during his Tuesday visit to Capitol Hill.
In a meeting with “great friend of Israel” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sa’ar expressed his gratitude for the senator’s “clear, bold and moral voice” against antisemitism on both the political left and the right, he said.
The two also spoke about Cruz’s initiative to officially designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, stated Sa’ar, who added: “We look forward to hosting Senator Cruz in Israel!”
With Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sa’ar said he spoke of mutual challenges and opportunities in the Middle East. The diplomat added, “Israel has no greater friend than the U.S. and the U.S. has no partner more effective than Israel!”
Sa’ar also met with Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and expressed the Jewish state’s “gratitude for his unwavering support,” he tweeted.
“We also discussed the Palestinian Authority and I detailed its ongoing Pay-for-Slay policy of payments to terrorists and their families and incitement against Israel and Jews,” Sa’ar said of the meeting.
During a final meeting with Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), Sa’ar invited the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee to visit Jerusalem.
“We had a good discussion on mutual challenges and opportunities, in the Middle East and beyond,” he stated, adding: “We appreciate his friendship and steadfast support for Israel!”
Sa’ar touched down in the U.S. capital on Tuesday for a ceremony with his Bolivian counterpart, in which the two formally restored diplomatic relations that were severed following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
The renewal of diplomatic ties came in the wake of Rodrigo Paz Pereira being elected as Bolivia’s first center-right president in nearly 20 years. Paz Pereira, a center-right former senator, in his campaign stressed repairing relations with Western partners, including Washington.
As part of his visit to Washington, Sa’ar is also expected to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, marking their fourth meeting this year.
Rubio on Tuesday spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Tuesday and emphasized the strength of the U.S. partnership with Riyadh, according to a State Department readout.
The U.S. secretary of state called his Saudi counterpart to “welcome the outcomes” of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud’s recent visit to Washington and discussed “developments in Yemen and the urgent need to advance peace efforts in Sudan,” the readout said.
