Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth canceled a planned visit to Israel on Wednesday following U.S. military strikes against Iran, according to an Israeli source cited by The Jerusalem Post and Reuters.

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Hegseth, who is accompanying President Donald Trump in Ankara for the NATO summit, had been expected to make a brief stop in Israel for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.

The meetings were expected to focus on Iran and Israeli concerns over a possible U.S. sale of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets to Turkey, a move Israel has publicly opposed.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the visit had been scheduled against the backdrop of overnight U.S. strikes on Iran. United States Central Command said the strikes were launched in response to Iranian attacks on commercial tankers in the waters near the Strait of Hormuz, describing the operation as intended to impose “heavy costs” for targeting civilian shipping.

Iranian state media reported multiple injuries from the strikes, while Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it later targeted 85 U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait in retaliation, claiming the attacks were a response to what it described as U.S. ceasefire violations.

The strikes came hours after Washington announced it was ending sanctions relief on Iranian oil sales, a measure previously included in a memorandum of understanding between the two countries, saying the move was intended to increase economic pressure on Tehran following the attacks.

The issue of a possible F-35 sale to Turkey has become increasingly contentious. According to Israel’s Channel 13 News, Netanyahu recently told senior officials that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan “is not a ‘frenemy’ — he is an enemy.”

In an interview with CNN, Netanyahu urged the United States not to sell F-35s to Turkey, arguing that “a regime that is infected with the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood… should not receive aircraft.” He also warned that Turkey has “aggressive aspirations” and said providing it with the advanced fighters would bring “aggression in its wake.”

Reuters, citing an Israeli source, separately reported that Hegseth canceled the meetings that had been scheduled to discuss the possible F-35 sale and regional security. No official reason for the cancellation has been announced.