U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter.
The meeting took place at Ovda Air Base in southern Israel, where U.S. refueling planes and fighter jets are deployed. Hegseth also met with American troops stationed at the base. The military censor cleared Israeli media to report on the visit Monday night.
The trip was kept under tight secrecy. It comes amid U.S.-Israeli discussions about potentially resuming major combat operations against Iran, and eight days before Israel’s October 27 Knesset election.
The visit also came a day after President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu in the election. In a Truth Social post, Trump warned Tehran that unless it rapidly changes course, “we will soon finish the job.” He added: “If Israel has the wrong leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so.”
The Pentagon declined to comment, and the Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond. Hegseth later posted an image of himself visiting U.S. Central Command troops, without mentioning Israel.
Earlier this week, Netanyahu visited an Israeli Air Force base and delivered a pointed warning to Israel’s enemies. “We have the readiness, the determination and the capability to strike our enemies the moment it is required,” he said. “Our enemies will take harder blows than they have taken until now... Do not test us.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to Trump’s threat on Sunday in a post on X. “Last time you wanted to ‘finish the job’, Iran emerged even stronger. Want to try your luck again? Be our guest. But be careful; we have unfinished jobs too,” he wrote. “Netanyahu is driving America into another war to stay out of jail, whatever the consequences for Israel—let alone POTUS.”
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman Hossein Mohebbi also threatened a severe response to any Israeli or American strike on the regime’s national assets. “Any attack on Iran’s energy infrastructure, even though it will be repaired immediately by our young scientists, will turn the occupied territories into scorched earth and drive their fledglings into the Sinai desert,” he said. “The world will see what happens!”
