Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that he will be meeting with President Donald Trump during his visit to Washington, D.C., to attend the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral.
Graham’s memorial service will be at the Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday, starting at 2 p.m. Eastern. The South Carolina senator was a staunch supporter of Israel and a strong advocate for taking out Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
In a video posted to the social media platform X, Netanyahu said before departing for the U.S., “I am on my way to Washington for a meeting with our friend, President Donald Trump. This is my eighth meeting with him since he was elected president for his second term, more than any other international leader. This is a great privilege, but it is also a great responsibility.”
“We will discuss all the issues on the agenda, first and foremost, Iran. Naturally, our goal is to safeguard our security and also to expand the circle of peace around us,” he added.
“And I am also embarking on another mission: To pay final respects to our friend, a true friend of mine and of the State of Israel, Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest friends the state of Israel has ever known. And I am certain that in this matter, I also represent you, the citizens of Israel,” Netanyahu said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before departing on a visit to Washington:
“I am on my way to Washington for a meeting with our friend, President Donald Trump. This is my eighth meeting with him since he was elected president for his second term, more than any other… pic.twitter.com/R5Cf7lJ4od— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 27, 2026
Politico reported that Trump and Netanyahu have not met face-to-face since the war with Iran began in February, and the prime minister had been looking for a meeting since at least April, according to “two people familiar with the matter.”
“At first there was no meeting. They arranged it in the last couple of days,” one of the sources told Politico, adding that Netanyahu wants to discuss Iran as well as the U.S. nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia.
Dana Stroul, the top civilian in the Pentagon working on Middle East issues during the Biden administration and currently with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Politico that there are several moves that the U.S. has made recently that have unsettled Israel.
They include “agreeing to sell F-35s to Turkey, striking a civilian nuclear energy agreement with Saudi Arabia that lacks certain oversight mechanisms, pressing Israel to withdraw from Lebanon without assurances that the Hezbollah militant group has been dismantled, and pursuing a Syria policy Israel views warily given the orientation of the new government in Damascus,” the news outlet said.
Following Graham’s death, Netanyahu told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the senator encouraged him to do whatever is necessary to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
“I think that Lindsey was unabashed. He talked to me about it. He said, ‘You know, you have to do it. You have to do it.’ He came to me and said, ‘Bibi, you have to do it. You have to knock out this nuclear weapons program before they knock us out.’ He was very clear about that,” Netanyahu recounted.
In April, Trump refuted the notion that Israel talked him into a war with Iran.
He wrote in a Truth Social post, “Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did. I watch and read the FAKE NEWS Pundits and Polls in total disbelief. 90% of what they say are lies and made up stories, and the polls are rigged, much as the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged.”
On Oct. 7, 2023, Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists invaded Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing approximately 1,200 Israelis and taking 251 hostages.
In another Truth Social post, Trump wrote, “Whether people like Israel or not, they have proven to be a GREAT Ally of the United States of America. They are Courageous, Bold, Loyal, and Smart and, unlike others that have shown their true colors in a moment of conflict and stress, Israel fights hard, and knows how to WIN!”
In April, the White House X account posted a CBS “60 Minutes” clip from the previous day’s program featuring Matthew Bunn, a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, who specializes in nuclear weapons proliferation and related subjects.
The former White House adviser confirmed that Iran, based on United Nations inspector reports, had enough highly enriched uranium to create 10 to 11 nuclear bombs with slightly more processing.
60 MINUTES: Iran still has nearly 1,000 pounds of highly-enriched uranium — “enough material, if you enrich it just a little bit more, for 10-11 nuclear bombs.”
“Iran has been lying about its nuclear weapons effort for over 20 years now.” pic.twitter.com/8StUWPID0R
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 20, 2026
He added, “Iran has been lying about its nuclear weapons effort for over 20 years now.”
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