Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz spoke with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this evening, according to Amichai Stein (i24NEWS). The conversation comes amid ongoing US military operations against Iran.
Defense Minister Israel Katz spoke with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this evening (00:06 Jerusalem), according to Amichai Stein (i24NEWS). The conversation, reported earlier by a security-affairs channel, takes place against the backdrop of ongoing US military operations against Iran. This development follows a thread of activity in Washington: The Zioneer first reported at 22:47 Jerusalem on June 14 that Vice President JD Vance had made an urgent entry to the White House, later specified to the Situation Room. By the same timestamp, a security-affairs channel reported both Katz's call with his counterpart and Vance's extended stay at the Situation Room. Separately, at 22:47 President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal he expects to announce a signed Memorandum of Understanding shortly.
The timeline of the thread shows a rapid escalation in reporting: what began as an unconfirmed Arab-language report at 22:47 was corroborated within the same hour by multiple sources, including the security-affairs channel and i24NEWS. The Katz-Hegseth call was first reported alongside Vance's Situation Room stay, and later confirmed by Stein.
As The Zioneer previously reported, Hegseth met with CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper at the central command's headquarters in Florida on June 10 (22:21 Jerusalem) and later that night vowed 'powerful and clear' strikes on Iran, stating that if the US must negotiate through bombs, it will do so. The context of the current conversations — between Katz and Hegseth, and Vance's prolonged Situation Room presence — suggests ongoing high-level coordination between the US and Israel amid the military campaign, though the content of the calls has not been disclosed.
What remains open: The specific content of the Katz-Hegseth call and the purpose of Vance's Situation Room stay have not been officially confirmed by either the Pentagon or the White House. The statement by Trump regarding a signed memorandum has not been independently verified, and no timeline for its announcement has been given.
6 developments
- DevelopingHegseth: If we have to negotiate through bombs, we'll negotiate through bombs
- StrongHegseth says US on track to sign deal with Iran, expects talks to continue
- StrongUS Defense Secretary Hegseth meets CENTCOM commander at Florida headquarters
- DevelopingUS Defense Secretary Hegseth warns Iran against challenging America
Source and signal
- Internal intake