Prominent U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham urged Saudi Arabia and Israel on Tuesday to establish diplomatic ties by the end of the year, warning that the next U.S. administration is unlikely to be able to secure enough votes to support the deal.
The Biden administration is seeking to broker a normalization accord between the two countries that would include U.S. security guarantees for Gulf state Saudi Arabia, among other bilateral deals between Washington and Riyadh.
"We can get you a treaty through the Senate between the United States and Saudi Arabia, a defense agreement like you have in Japan and Australia, if you do it on President Biden's watch," Graham, who is seen as close to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, told reporters in Jerusalem.
"The next president will have a very difficult time getting 67 votes," he said in reference to the two-thirds majority needed in the U.S. Senate to approve a defense treaty.
Democrat Joe Biden's term as president will end on Jan. 20. Graham, a longtime senator, is a key Republican in Congress with influence on foreign policy and national security matters.