US President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday that Washington will be selling F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, whose Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was set to visit the White House on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump was asked whether he would move ahead with the deal after saying last week that he was considering it.
“Yeah, I am planning on doing it. They’ve been a great ally… We’ll be selling F-35s,” Trump responded, claiming Riyadh was also pleased with Washington for the latter’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear program in June. Israel is thought to not oppose such a sale in principle, while hoping that the US would condition it on Saudi Arabia agreeing to join the Abraham Accords.
But Riyadh has long conditioned such a move on Israel agreeing to establish a pathway to a future Palestinian state, which the current Netanyahu government has refused to do. Trump is still expected to raise the issue with bin Salman on Tuesday. The Axios news site reported last week that, in a phone call in October, Trump urged bin Salman to normalize relations with Israel in the wake of that month’s Gaza ceasefire deal. (Read More)
“Yeah, I am planning on doing it. They’ve been a great ally… We’ll be selling F-35s,” Trump responded, claiming Riyadh was also pleased with Washington for the latter’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear program in June. Israel is thought to not oppose such a sale in principle, while hoping that the US would condition it on Saudi Arabia agreeing to join the Abraham Accords.
But Riyadh has long conditioned such a move on Israel agreeing to establish a pathway to a future Palestinian state, which the current Netanyahu government has refused to do. Trump is still expected to raise the issue with bin Salman on Tuesday. The Axios news site reported last week that, in a phone call in October, Trump urged bin Salman to normalize relations with Israel in the wake of that month’s Gaza ceasefire deal. (Read More)
