Hegseth Meets Netanyahu Amid Plans for New Iran Offensive
Defense Secretary Hegseth meets Netanyahu as Trump weighs major Iran military action.
4 min read
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth quietly traveled to Israel on Monday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as President Donald Trump weighs another major military offensive against Iran. The unannounced visit took place just eight days before Israel’s parliamentary elections and roughly two weeks before America’s midterms.
The meeting occurred amid discussions between Washington and Jerusalem about potentially resuming large-scale military operations against Iran, Axios reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Hegseth met Netanyahu at Ovda Air Base in southern Israel, where American fighter jets and aerial refueling aircraft are deployed, Axios reported, citing two sources.
The Pentagon referred to a recent X post showing Hegseth visiting American troops at Ovda Air Base in southern Israel, where U.S. fighter jets and refueling aircraft are deployed.
As always, it was an honor to visit our warfighters in @CENTCOM today. The best of our country, on a historic mission. Godspeed. https://t.co/UO094Mvw1e
“Things are about to get spicy,” a senior military official familiar with the situation recently told the Daily Caller News Foundation, suggesting American operations against Iran could soon intensify.
The Israeli Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As always, it was an honor to visit our warfighters in @CENTCOM today,” Hegseth wrote in the X post. “The best of our country, on a historic mission. Godspeed.”
American political leaders visiting Israel is hardly unusual. Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all visited Jerusalem’s Western Wall outside their presidencies, while Trump became the first sitting American president to visit the holy site in 2017, according to the White House.
Trump has also publicly backed Netanyahu’s reelection campaign, calling him a “Great Warrior Prime Minister” and praising his cooperation against Iran in an Oct. 18 Truth Social post. Vice President JD Vance, however, declined to endorse Netanyahu despite Trump’s public support, saying he would focus on American candidates ahead of the November midterms.
“I’m not anti-endorsing him. I’m not pro-endorsing him. I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections,” Vance told journalist Mark Halperin during a Monday interview aboard Air Force Two, according to the White House press pool.
The meeting also raises questions about the enormous American military resources already expended defending Israel. The U.S. military fired more interceptors defending Israel than Israeli forces fired themselves in the Iran War, The Washington Post reported, citing Pentagon assessments and American officials.
American forces fired more than 200 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, roughly half their inventory, while U.S. Navy warships launched more than 100 SM-3 and SM-6 interceptors. Israel fired fewer than 100 Arrow interceptors and approximately 90 David’s Sling interceptors, The Washington Post reported.
The Pentagon previously defended the expenditure, arguing that both militaries shared the defensive burden when accounting for fighter aircraft and other defensive systems, Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the DCNF.
The conflict has also severely depleted America’s missile interceptor inventories. By July, U.S. Patriot stocks had fallen below 1,000 missiles, while THAAD inventories stood at approximately 250 interceptors, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Replenishing those stockpiles could take years, potentially weakening American readiness for a confrontation with China in the Pacific, according to a separate CSIS analysis.
The Trump administration also approved a $2.8 billion arms package for Israel, including 40,000 2,000-pound bombs and 20,000 bunker-busting warheads, The New York Times reported, citing a U.S. official. The proposed sale would represent one of the largest deliveries of American munitions to Israel, although the weapons could take months or years to produce and deliver, according to the outlet.
The visit follows a substantial American military buildup in the Middle East. Approximately 9,000 additional sailors and Marines are deploying aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and USS Makin Island amphibious ready group, potentially bringing the American naval presence above 20,000 personnel, The Associated Press reported, citing a U.S. official.
Beyond the military costs, the Iran War has devastated global energy markets by disrupting oil and natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict has caused the largest oil supply disruption on record, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The agency projects global oil supply will decline by an average of 5.8 million barrels per day in 2026, with renewed attacks threatening recovery, according to its October report.
Netanyahu faces parliamentary elections Oct. 27, while Americans vote Nov. 3. Neither government has publicly disclosed what Hegseth and Netanyahu discussed or announced a decision to launch another major offensive against Iran.
Source: Daily Caller
