JERUSALEM, Oct 20 (Reuters) - US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, a person familiar with the matter said, as tensions flare between the US and Iran.
The person did not say what the two men discussed during the meeting, first reported by Axios. The Pentagon declined to comment. The Israeli prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hegseth said in a social media post that
he had visited US service members in the Central Command area of responsibility, which covers the Middle East, northeast Africa and parts of Asia.
Israel's Army Radio reported his meeting with Netanyahu took place at an air force base in Israel's southern desert.
Hegseth's visit comes amid rising tensions in the Middle East war as tensions flare between the U.S. and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz and as Yemen's Iran-allied Houthis intensify their attacks on Saudi Arabia.
It also came a day after US President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu in next week's parliamentary election in Israel, the country's first ballot since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel.
US and Israeli forces launched joint strikes against Iran in late February, setting off the wider Middle East war. Netanyahu told Israeli media this month that he's not seeking to attack Iran before the October 27 Israeli election. Trump has said he will not attack Iran before US midterm elections in November.
(Reporting by Emily Rose, Maayan Lubell, Phil Stewart, Christian Martinez and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Rami Ayyub)
