Lindsey Graham praised the local defense industry during his trip to Tel Aviv

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has said Israel is ahead of the US in developing cutting-edge weapons.

Graham made the remarks in Tel Aviv after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Yair Lapid on Monday. The senator said Washington should invest in Israel’s defense industry rather than “just writing a check” for military aid.

“I like that idea. The wars of the future are being planned here in Israel. If you’re not one step ahead of the enemy, you suffer,” Graham said, praising the Israel Defense Forces as the “most clever, creative military forces on the planet.”

“Israel is advancing down the road of new weaponry far beyond us,” he added.

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The visit came ahead of Omani-mediated US-Iran talks in Geneva aimed at easing renewed tensions in the Middle East. The US has dispatched two aircraft carrier strike groups to the region as President Donald Trump seeks to pressure Iran to abandon uranium enrichment.

Iran responded with snap live-fire drills, with officials warning that its military would strike American bases in the region if the country came under attack.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told RT last week that Tehran is ready to offer guarantees that its nuclear program is peaceful, while stressing that uranium enrichment for civilian purposes is Iran’s sovereign right.

Israel and the US carried out airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites in June 2025, to which Tehran responded by firing missiles at Israel and a US airbase in Qatar.