Caption: Flag of Iran. A new resolution passed in the Senate calling on the U.S. to help Israel if the Jewish state must act militarily against Iran in its own defense. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

On Israel’s 65th Independence Day, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee adopted “Senate Resolution 65,” stipulating that the U.S. will assist Israel diplomatically, economically and militarily if the Jewish state is compelled to take military action against Iran “in its defense of its territory, people, and existence.”

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) sponsored Tuesday’s resolution, which garnered a bipartisan group of 79 co-sponsors. The resolution also emphasizes that the U.S. must be committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

“The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has sent a very clear and enormously important message of solidarity with Israel against the Iranian nuclear threat—which endangers American, Israeli, and international security,” the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) said in a statement. “AIPAC urges the full Senate to act expeditiously to adopt the resolution.”

Also on Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon warned in an Israel Independence Day speech that the Iranian nuclear program could lead to “an arms race in the Middle East, and cause nuclear weapons to spread to terror organizations.” Ya’alon said the situation with Iran “could be a nightmare for the Western world,” the Jerusalem Post reported.

Ya’alon also emphasized that Iran continues to enrich uranium, which indicates that Iran’s government “is not impressed” by existing sanctions from the West. “The world must lead the campaign against Iran, but Israel must prepare for the possibility that it will have to defend itself with its own powers,” Ya’alon said.