US war chief Hegseth cancels trip to Israel after Iran strikes

Israel fears a Turkish acquisition of F-35 fighters could undermine its military superiority.

By World Israel News Staff

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth canceled an expected visit to Israel on Wednesday for high-level meetings with Israeli leaders, as tensions between Washington and Tehran escalate once again and concerns grow in Jerusalem over the possibility of the United States approving the sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.

According to reports from CNN and Axios, Hegseth was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz during what would be his first visit to Israel since assuming the role of America’s top defense official.

The visit’s cancellation came after President Donald Trump said he considered the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran to be “over,” following renewed military exchanges between the United States and Iran.

Trump met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday, making remarks that suggested Washington is seriously considering allowing Turkey to rejoin the F-35 fighter jet program.

Such a move has long been viewed with concern in Israel, where officials argue that providing Ankara with fifth-generation stealth aircraft could erode Israel’s longstanding qualitative military edge in the region.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the United States launched strikes against dozens of targets inside Iran after Tehran targeted commercial shipping traveling through the Strait of Hormuz. Washington also announced that it had revoked a sanctions waiver on Iranian oil that had been suspended following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), citing Iran’s renewed attacks on international maritime traffic.

The strikes were necessary “to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international commerce,” the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a media statement.

Iran responded by launching attacks against U.S. military assets in Gulf states, including Kuwait and Bahrain. Senior Iranian officials argued that Washington’s decision to restore sanctions on Iranian oil constituted a fundamental breach of the Memorandum of Understanding, effectively nullifying the agreement.

IRNA, Iran’s state-controlled news agency, published a statement early Wednesday declaring that the “violation of Iranian arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz,” together with Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, rendered the MoU meaningless.