Hegseth met Netanyahu in unannounced Israel visit as Iran talks and election loom

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge of the trip. The Pentagon and Israel’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to Reuters.

Details emerged on Tuesday. Two sources confirmed the meeting to Walla, and Reuters reported that Hegseth confirmed the visit but would not elaborate on the talks. According to KAN News, the main topic of discussion was Iran, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Defense Minister Israel Katz attended the meeting, while IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and other senior Israeli officials were not invited for confidentiality reasons. Hegseth arrived on a military transport plane rather than a US government aircraft to avoid raising suspicion, and US sources told the Post that representatives of the United Arab Emirates were not present despite earlier reports indicating otherwise.

The leaders met at Ovda Air Base in southern Israel, where the US deploys refueling planes and fighter jets, Axios cited two sources as saying. Hegseth also met with US troops at the base, and later posted an image of the visit on X: “The best of our country, on a historic mission. Godspeed.”

The meeting came a day after US President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu in next week’s parliamentary election — Israel’s first vote since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 — and eight days before Israelis go to the polls. Opinion polls show Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition is projected to lose its governing majority.