Hegseth discusses Iran with Netanyahu in unannounced visit to Israel, officials say

JERUSALEM, Oct 20 (Reuters) - US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth discussed Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel ‌on Monday, three Israeli officials said, as tensions flare between the US ‌and Iran.

Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for the prime minister, later confirmed to Reuters that Netanyahu had ​met with Hegseth at the Uvda air force base in Israel's southern Negev desert region.

Netanyahu and Hegseth discussed "the threats in the region" and the US-Israel partnership in dealing both offensively and defensively with those threats, he said in a brief phone call.

Hegseth ‌also thanked Israel for hosting ⁠US forces, which Spielman said numbered in the thousands, and discussed President Donald Trump's support for the prime minister.

"There's a deep ⁠personal relationship here that was at the core of this discussion," Spielman said.

On Sunday, 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.

The Pentagon has not publicly ‌commented on Hegseth's visit.

Hegseth earlier posted on X 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.

He did not specify where he had met with the forces.

Hegseth's visit comes as tensions flare between the US and Iran over the Strait of ‌Hormuz and as Yemen's Iran-allied Houthis intensify their ​attacks on Saudi Arabia.

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.

Israel has hosted additional ​US forces, including military ‌aircraft, since at least February as part of the war with Iran.

(Reporting ​by Alexander Cornwell, Emily Rose, Maayan Lubell, Phil Stewart, Christian Martinez ​and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Rami Ayyub)