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Hegseth meets Netanyahu on unannounced Israel visit as Qatar says Iran-US talks go on
The US defence secretary saw the Israeli prime minister at an air base in the southern desert, a week before an election in which Trump has endorsed Netanyahu and Vance has stayed out.
Key points
- Pete Hegseth met Benjamin Netanyahu at an air force base in Israel's southern desert on Monday.
- Qatar said negotiations between Iran and the United States are continuing despite fears of renewed fighting.
- Netanyahu has told voters Israel must build new alliances, saying "India is not a small country".
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday during a visit to Israel that neither government announced, as the region waits to see whether the war with Iran flares up again.
The two met at an air force base in Israel’s southern desert, according to Israel’s Army Radio. Two people with knowledge of the matter first disclosed the meeting. The Pentagon declined to comment, and neither side has said what was discussed. Hegseth said on social media only that he had been visiting US service members in the area covered by Central Command, which spans the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Asia.
The visit came as Qatar said on Tuesday that negotiations between Iran and the United States were still going on despite rising tension and fears of renewed fighting. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari gave no detail on where the talks stood.
An election a week away
Hegseth’s trip lands in the final stretch of Israel’s campaign. Voters go to the polls on 27 October, the first general election since the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023 and the war in Gaza that followed. Polls suggest Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition could lose its majority, though the opposition may also struggle to form a government.
President Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind Netanyahu, giving him a “Complete and Total Endorsement” on Sunday and praising him as an ally in the US war on Iran. “BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump wrote.
Vice President JD Vance has kept his distance. “I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections,” he said. “I endorse American candidates, and that’s where I’m focused on is the midterms.”
Netanyahu looks beyond Washington
Hours before Trump’s endorsement, Netanyahu set out a security doctrine in Jerusalem that included a warning about the United States itself. “In two years, a President, man or woman, could come to power who is very hostile to Israel,” he said.
His answer, he said, was to make the most of the remaining time and to widen Israel’s friendships. “The second thing is to create other alliances,” Netanyahu said. “India is not a small country, and there are many others.” He also pointed to Latin America: “There is a major shift in Latin America, and there could be an enormous change in Brazil in just a few days.”
Netanyahu often cites India, and his relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to argue that Israel is not isolated. In May he spoke of a “unique relationship” with India.
His main challenger, former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, dismissed the doctrine as “Two hollow pages, full of slogans” and an “empty political exercise”.
What comes next
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran’s seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is “still on the table”. Trump, for his part, says the US is still hitting Iran “economically and militarily”. Neither Washington nor Jerusalem has said whether Hegseth’s visit touched on the next phase of the war.