US calls off meeting with Israel's Netanyahu on possible F-35 sale to Turkey: Report

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has cancelled a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that had been scheduled for Wednesday to discuss the possible sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.

Washington's apparent shift in defence ties with Ankara continues to draw concern in Israel.Quoting an Israeli source, Reuters reported that the meeting was expected to focus on the proposed F-35 sale to Turkey, which Israeli officials fear could alter the military balance in the Middle East. The source also said Hegseth had been due to meet Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz during a planned visit to Israel, with Iran expected to feature prominently in their discussions.The US embassy in Israel has not commented on Hegseth's planned meetings. The development comes a day after US President Donald Trump announced at the Nato summit in Ankara that Washington would lift sanctions imposed on Turkey under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (Caatsa) and indicated that his administration was open to selling the fifth-generation stealth fighter to Ankara."We're going to be taking the sanctions off," Trump told reporters when asked about the Caatsa measures, adding that members of his cabinet were already working on the process.

He also said a sale of the advanced fighter aircraft was "certainly something we will consider."The announcement marked a significant policy shift nearly six years after the United States sanctioned Turkey over its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence system and removed Ankara from the F-35 fighter jet programme, despite Turkey being both a customer and a manufacturing partner.During a CNN interview on Tuesday, Netanyahu publicly opposed any move to supply Turkey with the fifth-generation fighter aircraft, saying he had conveyed his concerns directly to Trump."It would destroy the power balance in the Middle East, because Turkey, I think, has aggressive aspirations," Netanyahu said.He added, "When you give them that power, you're going to see aggression in its wake."Turkey has been sharply critical of Israeli military operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, while repeatedly accusing Israel of attempting to undermine the US-Iran ceasefire agreement mediated by Pakistan.

Separately on Wednesday, Trump said the memorandum of understanding signed to end the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran was 'over', adding that he did not want to engage with Tehran.Relations between Washington and Ankara had deteriorated after Turkey's 2019 acquisition of the Russian missile defence system. Although ties have improved since Trump's return to the White House in January 2025, any sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey would still face legal hurdles and is expected to encounter strong opposition in the US Congress as well as from Israel.