McConnell: Israeli, U.S. Mideast agendas ‘the same’

Sen. Mitch McConnell said in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. and Israeli agendas in the Middle East were identical.

Netanyahu met Friday with McConnell, the minority leader in the U.S. Senate, who was leading a group of senators on an Israel tour.

“As everybody in Israel knows, there are a lot of things we disagree on in America, we've had big battles over deficit and debt, but there's broad bi-partisan support for Israel, and our agenda in this part of the world is the same as your agenda,” McConnell said, according to a statement from Netanyahu's office.

Netanyahu thanked the senators and said his major priority, should he win reelection on Jan. 22, would be ” to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons.”

The statement from Netanyahu's office did not say who else was in McConnell's group. Other senators known to be in Israel this week include Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.).