Hegseth makes an unannounced visit to Israel and meets Netanyahu days before the vote

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Monday, two sources with knowledge of the trip told Axios¹. The New York Times also reported the meeting, citing two people with knowledge of the trip². Axios said the unannounced visit came eight days before Israel’s election¹.

The Media Line reported that the two men met at an air base in southern Israel⁶. Haaretz reported that Hegseth also met Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz⁵, and Türkiye Today reported that UAE officials were present at the air base as well⁸. According to Türkiye Today, Israel’s military censor initially barred Israeli media from reporting the meeting until Axios published it⁸.

Bloomberg described the meeting as part of a wider trip to the Middle East, days before the vote³. Ynet published a US Department of Defense photo of Hegseth speaking with troops in the area covered by US Central Command⁹.

Why it matters to investors

Several outlets tied the visit to the risk of renewed war with Iran. CBS News framed the trip as coming ahead of Israel’s elections and a possible restart to the Iran war⁴. The Media Line reported it as Iran tensions rise⁶, and Ynet wrote that Trump’s backing of Netanyahu and Hegseth’s secret visit had fuelled fears of an Iran war ahead of the election⁹. Türkiye Today described the meeting as taking place amid Iran war talk⁸.

The timing also links the visit to Israeli politics. The Arab Weekly noted that it followed President Donald Trump’s public backing of the Israeli leader⁷. None of these reports carries a statement from the Pentagon or Netanyahu’s office on what was discussed^1,2,3.

What to watch

The administration is not speaking with one voice on the Israeli vote. Vice President JD Vance declined on Monday to endorse Netanyahu for re-election, a day after Trump endorsed him, and said he was focusing on the midterms¹². CNBC reported that Vance refrained from an endorsement as Trump offered praise¹⁰. Politico reported that Vance said he did not want to get involved in a non-US election, though he campaigned in Hungary for former Prime Minister Viktor Orban¹¹.

For energy and defence markets, the questions are whether any statement follows on the purpose of the trip, and whether the talk of renewed strikes on Iran that several outlets reported turns into action before or after Israel votes^4,9. The election itself is now little more than a week away^1,4.