JERUSALEM – US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth canceled a meeting that had been scheduled for Wednesday to discuss the possible sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an Israeli source told Reuters.
Any such sale would likely anger Israeli officials. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Hegseth had also been scheduled to meet Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on a trip to Israel and that Iran would feature in their discussions.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding signed to end the conflict that the US and Israel launched against Iran was “over” and that he didn’t want to engage with Tehran.
The US embassy in Israel had no immediate comment on Hegseth’s planned meetings.
Turkey, a NATO member, has long criticised Israeli operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and it has repeatedly accused Israel of trying to undermine the US-Iran ceasefire deal mediated by Pakistan.
