Trump says US will sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia, first Arab country to acquire jets
The deal could rattle Washington's ties with Israel and is not likely to be approved by Congress unless conditioned on Saudi normalization of ties with Israel.
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump on Monday said his administration plans to sell Saudi Arabia stealth-capable F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft ahead of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the White House on Tuesday.
When asked by a reporter in the Oval Office about whether he intends to sell the jets, Trump answered, "I am planning on doing that. They want to buy. They've been a great ally. They've got to like us very much," he said before mentioning the US strikes that knocked out Iran's key nuclear enrichment sites in June. "We will be selling F-35s," Trump affirmed.
Why it matters: An agreement to provide Riyadh with Lockheed Martin's F-35 would make Saudi Arabia the only country in the Middle East besides Israel, and the first Arab state, to possess the fifth-generation strike aircraft, which is the premier fighter in NATO's arsenal.
Israeli officials were weary of Trump’s efforts during his first term to sell F-35s to the United Arab Emirates, although that deal was never completed due to security concerns in Washington regarding sharing the aircraft's sensitive technology.
Agreeing to sell the F-35s is one of the US government's key points of leverage over the crown prince as the Trump administration seeks to persuade him to normalize ties with Israel. Trump indicated last week that such a deal was still on the table, although Saudi leaders have ruled it out until progress is made toward establishing a Palestinian state.
Riyadh is also seeking a defense guarantee from the United States. Trump answered vaguely in the affirmative during the Oval Office press gaggle on Monday when asked whether he would sign a similar executive order assuring that the United States would come to Riyadh's defense from foreign attack, as Trump did in September for Qatar in a landmark commitment. The executive order, however, does not have the heft of a Senate-ratified defense treaty.
What's next: Such a sale is likely to face opposition from key lawmakers, in particular Democrats, who have long been critical of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses at home and abroad in neighboring Yemen.
Earlier, aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump confirmed Saudi Arabia was seeking the F-35.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
