House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday said the U.S.-Israeli bond is unbreakable and the nations cannot ignore threats from Tehran and Beijing as Jerusalem bolsters its economy and its relations with the Arab world on its doorstep.

Mr. McCarthy, California Republican, said Iran will continue to destabilize the Middle East through drones, support for rogue armies and cyberattacks.

“As we welcome peace, we cannot ignore the threats to peace in our region. The threats have one primary cause, the rogue Iranian regime,” Mr. McCarthy told the Knesset, Israel’s parliament in Jerusalem, in a visit to mark the country’s 75 years of statehood.

He said as long as he is House speaker, the U.S. will fully fund Israel’s efforts to defend itself.

He added to applause, “Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon.”

Mr. McCarthy said their nations must remain on guard against China’s rising aggression, such as the theft of intellectual property. He warned against “prejudice” toward Israel that involves boycotts over Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and includes U.N. resolutions that criticize Jerusalem.

The speaker said he will establish a House-Knesset partnership that will increase cooperation between the legislatures and foster trips between the nations.

Mr. McCarthy is the second speaker to address the Knesset after Newt Gingrich in 1998.

Mr. McCarthy had planned to visit Taiwan this year, but given the turmoil with China over the island, he met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California.

“This is my very first trip overseas as the U.S. speaker of the House of Representatives. There is no place I’d rather be than right here, right now, with all of you,” Mr. McCarthy told the Knesset.

Mr. McCarthy brought a bipartisan delegation to mark statehood celebrations and shore up the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Israel in recent weeks has been rocked by internal discord over judicial overhauls pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who says he is putting the changes on hold.

Mr. McCarthy backed Mr. Netanyahu, while President Biden urged the Israeli leader to back away from his plans.

The speaker spoke of the U.S.-Israeli relationship in unflinching terms.

“It’s more personal and more powerful than we might even realize,” Mr. McCarthy said, explaining Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana gave him a picture of an Israeli pilot who trained in the House speaker’s hometown of Bakersfield, California.

Mr. McCarthy hailed Israel as a “modern miracle” that’s survived external threats since biblical times and is flourishing with a dynamic economy and talented people despite unrelenting adversity.

“Our values are your values, our heritage is your heritage, our dreams are your dreams,” the speaker said.

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.