U.S. 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 Türkiye with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a report said.
Hegseth, who is attending the NATO summit in Türkiye along with U.S. President Donald Trump, had also been scheduled to meet Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on a trip that was also expected to focus on Iran, Reuters said, citing a source.
The visit would have come a day after Trump announced he would lift U.S. sanctions imposed on Ankara over its 2019 purchase of Russian air defense missiles, and he signaled a willingness to sell the NATO ally F-35 fighter jets.
Türkiye has long criticized Israeli genocidal operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and it has repeatedly accused Israel of trying to undermine the U.S.-Iran cease-fire deal mediated by Pakistan.
Trump said on Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding signed to end the conflict that the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran was "over" and that he didn't want to engage with Tehran.
