Photo: Michael Probst/AP
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has cancelled his planned visit to Israel, which was to take place next week – before President Donald Trump’s visit to the region. This was reported by Axios, citing a source familiar with the situation.
This was to be Ghegseth’s first trip to Israel since his appointment. He was to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz.
Despite the cancellation of his visit to Israel, Hughes will accompany Trump on a trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The cancellation of the visit came amid reports of a change in the US position on normalising relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. According to Axios, Trump is no longer demanding normalisation as a condition for moving forward with civilian nuclear cooperation talks.
During the Biden administration, the Saudis were offered a civilian nuclear programme only if a peace agreement with Israel was reached. Now, Trump is expected to sign a multibillion-dollar arms deal in Riyadh, another of the conditions previously set for normalisation.
