Axios revealed that the late US Senator Lindsey Graham spent his last weeks working on a diplomatic initiative aimed at reaching an agreement to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, considering that this file represents the cornerstone of a broader regional settlement after the war.
The site’s correspondent quoted Graham as saying during several meetings that normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel represents the “big prize” in the post-war period, and that weakening Iran may give US President Donald Trump a historic opportunity to sponsor this agreement.
According to the report, Graham was planning to launch intensive diplomatic action after the Israeli elections scheduled for October, and after the American midterm elections, with an agreement to be reached before the new Congress is sworn in in January, considering that containing the war with Iran, especially the Strait of Hormuz crisis, constitutes a basic condition for the success of the initiative.
The report indicated that Graham encouraged Trump, since mid-May, to make Saudi-Israeli normalization the focus of a broader regional plan. He also discussed the initiative with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, in addition to Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, the Saudi Ambassador to Washington, Princess Rima bint Bandar, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
Axios explained that Graham intended to visit Saudi Arabia and Israel in the coming weeks to discuss the possibility of resuming negotiations, and to begin diplomatic action in September, with the aim of completing the elements of the agreement by November.
The report added that the late senator believed that the success of the initiative required Congress’ approval of a US-Saudi defense treaty, in addition to the presence of an Israeli government ready to provide steps related to the Palestinian track, which Riyadh considered a basic condition for any agreement.
The website revealed that, in the last hours of his life, Graham made a phone call with Trump during which he informed him of his recent visit to Ukraine and the draft sanctions law on Russia, while Trump informed him of his readiness to launch new strikes against Iran.
According to someone who spoke with Graham shortly afterward, the senator complained of feeling tired, and when advised to seek medical care, he said he would do so Sunday morning after participating in a television show, before joking to his interlocutor, “I can’t die now.”
On Sunday, Graham’s office announced his death on Saturday evening at the age of 71, following a sudden illness, while NBC reported that emergency teams responded to a report of a heart attack at his home.
