US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has cancelled a planned visit to Israel as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to rise, following President Donald Trump’s declaration that the ceasefire with Iran is effectively “over.”
Hegseth was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz, with Iran expected to dominate the agenda.
While no official reason has been given for the cancellation, the move post a sharp deterioration in US-Iran relations following renewed military exchanges in the Gulf and Trump’s assertion that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding was effectively over.
The planned meetings were expected to focus on the implications of the latest escalation, including the future of regional security arrangements and coordination between Washington and Jerusalem.
The visit was also expected to include discussions on the possible sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Ankara, an issue that has emerged as a point of friction between Washington and Jerusalem, as the move has been strongly opposed by Israel along with a bunch of lawmakers within the US Congress.
Israeli officials have argued that providing Ankara with advanced stealth fighters could alter the power balance in the region, particularly as relations between Israel and Türkiye remain heavily strained.
The issue gained fresh momentum after Trump, attending the NATO summit in Ankara, announced plans to lift sanctions imposed on Türkiye over its 2019 purchase of the Russian-made S-400 Triumf.
Türkiye was removed from the programme in 2019 after purchasing the system, a move that raised concerns within Washington about the security of advanced US military technology. In 2020, the US Congress passed legislation effectively preventing the transfer of F-35 aircraft to Türkiye.
Trump, however, recently signalled that his administration was open to allowing Türkiye back into the F-35 programme, reversing a policy that led to Ankara’s expulsion from the project six years ago.
Any move to approve the sale is expected to face opposition from both US lawmakers and Israeli officials, who have repeatedly voiced concerns about Türkiye’s continued possession of the S-400 system and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s highly anti-Israel remarks.
