U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to sit down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to talk through a controversial proposal to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, according to a source familiar with the discussions who spoke to Reuters.
The source, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the topic, also said Hegseth is expected to meet with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz during the visit, with Iran anticipated to be a key subject in those talks.
Netanyahu made his position on the F-35 sale clear in a CNN interview on Tuesday, saying he had already communicated his opposition directly to President Trump. “It would destroy the power balance in the Middle East because Turkey has aggressive aspirations,” Netanyahu said.
Turkey, which is a NATO member, has been a vocal critic of Israeli military operations in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. The country has also repeatedly accused Israel of working to undermine a U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement brokered by Pakistan.
President Donald Trump, who traveled to Turkey to attend a NATO summit, announced Tuesday that he intends to lift U.S. sanctions that had been placed on Ankara following its 2019 purchase of Russian air defense missiles. Trump also signaled he was open to selling Turkey F-35 jets — a move that is expected to face significant pushback both in Congress and from Israel.
The relationship between the U.S. and Turkey had soured considerably after Ankara acquired the Russian S-400 missile defense system, which led Washington to impose sanctions on a major Turkish defense contractor and remove Turkey from the F-35 program entirely. Relations between the two countries have improved noticeably since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, though current U.S. law still blocks the jet sales.
