U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth Plans First Israel Visit, Sources Say

U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth is planning to visit Israel on Wednesday for the first trip of his tenure, according to people familiar with the matter. According to Jin10, CNN cited three informed sources as saying it was unclear whether the plan would be affected after the United States launched a new round of airstrikes on Iran. The sources said Hegseth was expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Katz. They said the purpose of the visit was to ease Israeli concerns that the United States might sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey. U.S. President Donald Trump previously raised the idea during a NATO summit. Netanyahu had said earlier that Turkish President Erdogan was “not a model ally of the United States.” The report said Israel is currently the only country in the Middle East equipped with F-35 fighter jets.