Speaking at a news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in Tel Aviv on Monday, Defense Minister Moshe (Bogie) Ya'alon said Israel would not permit "sophisticated weapons" to fall into the hands of "Hezbollah or other rogue elements."
"When they crossed this red line, we acted," Ya'alon said in an apparent reference to an alleged Israeli airstrike in January on a Hezbollah-bound arms convoy in Syria.
At the same news conference on Monday, Hagel pledged that the Obama administration is committed to preserving and improving Israel's military edge in the Middle East.
Hagel said the U.S. will permit Israel to buy various new weapons, including U.S. missiles and advanced radars for its strike aircraft.
Hagel also reiterated that the United States will leave it to Israel to decide whether and when it needs to attack Iran to stop it from building a nuclear bomb.
On Sunday, Hagel visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.
"We must prepare our future generations for a clear understanding that we must never allow [the Holocaust] to happen again," Hagel said while at Yad Vashem.
Hagel laid a wreath to commemorate the six million Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II.
Speaking after a tour of the memorial museum with his son, Hagel said that institutions like Yad Vashem serve as a reminder.
"There is no more poignant, more touching way to tell a story than this reality, as painful as it is. But, it is a reality, it did happen," he said.
Thanking his "friends of Israel," Hagel added that the Holocaust memorial was a "magnificent institution reminding all mankind of the depths of evil, but also the promise and hope and courage of man, a beautiful and important tribute to those victims of the past and the instruction and reminder to the generations of the future."
Earlier, he told reporters on his plane that a $10 billion arms deal under discussion with Washington's Arab and Israeli allies sent a "very clear signal" to Tehran that the military option remains on the table over its nuclear program.
The first stop on Hagel's week-long Middle East trip came two days after the Pentagon said it was finalizing a weapons deal to strengthen the militaries of Israel and two of Iran's key rivals -- Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Iran denies Western allegations that it is seeking to develop the capability to build nuclear weapons, saying its atomic activities are aimed at generating electricity.
Israel has repeatedly voiced its impatience with the pace of diplomatic efforts to curb Iran's enrichment of uranium, saying they should be coupled with a credible military threat. Both Israel and the United States have said all options remain on the table when it comes to dealing with any nuclear threat.
Such talk has raised international concern of a possible unilateral Israeli strike on Iran that could lead to wider regional war.
Ya'alon said on Monday that Israel prefers a diplomatic solution, but maintains the right to self-defense.
Hagel, who faced resistance during his Senate confirmation hearing earlier this year from lawmakers who questioned his support for Israel, said part of the purpose of his visit was to underscore to Israelis that "the United States is committed to their security."
Hagel was expected to meet President Shimon Peres on Monday and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.
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