Hegseth meets Netanyahu during unannounced Israel trip
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while on a surprise visit to Israel, according to Israeli officials. Doron Spielman, the prime minister’s spokesperson, told Reuters on Tuesday that the two leaders convened at the Uvda air‑force base in the Negev desert on the day before the story broke, after Axios first reported the trip.
Spielman said the discussion focused on regional threats and the U.S.–Israel partnership in confronting those challenges both offensively and defensively. Hegseth expressed gratitude to Israel for hosting thousands of U.S. service members, and the conversation also touched on President Donald Trump’s backing of Netanyahu, who is campaigning for re‑election next week. “There’s a deep personal relationship here that was at the core of this discussion,” Spielman added.
In a social‑media post, Hegseth noted that he had visited U.S. forces operating in the Central Command area of responsibility, which includes the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Asia. A Department of Defense spokesman declined to comment on the visit when approached by Al Jazeera.
Reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh said the timing of Hegseth’s trip followed Trump’s public endorsement of Netanyahu ahead of Israel’s October 27 election. Odeh quoted the Trump administration as supporting Netanyahu “as Israel’s protector and as a leader who can work with the U.S. on issues such as regime change in Iran.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, Netanyahu said he had spoken with Trump on Sunday, adding, “We are committed to completing the elimination of the Iranian regime.” He noted that he had discussed the matter with Trump multiple times, including “the day before yesterday.” Trump, in a recent social‑media post, praised Netanyahu as an ally in the war the United States and Israel launched against Iran in late February, offering his “complete and total endorsement.”
Opinion polls suggest Netanyahu’s religious‑nationalist coalition may lose its governing majority, while the opposition could also face difficulties forming a government. U.S. Vice President JD Vance, however, said on Monday that he would not endorse any candidate in the Israeli election, focusing instead on the American midterms. “I endorse American candidates, and that’s where I’m focused on is the midterms,” Vance told digital outlet 2WAY. “I’m not anti‑endorsing him, but I’m not pro‑endorsing him; I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections.”
When Al Jazeera asked about alleged plans to attack Iran discussed between Trump and Netanyahu, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly reiterated the president’s claim that Iran is in a very poor economic and military condition, but she also stressed that the United States “will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the midterm elections.”