U.S. President Donald Trump said he would sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia ahead of a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
On the 17th (local time), when asked by reporters, President Trump said, "Yes. We will sell the F-35." Trump is scheduled to meet bin Salman at the White House on the 18th, and bin Salman serves as Saudi Arabia's de facto leader.
Bin Salman is said to be aiming during this U.S. visit to sign a defense pact that defines the scope of America's military protection for Saudi Arabia and to conclude a purchase contract for America's advanced F-35 fighter jets.
The Trump administration and Saudi Arabia are in final coordination on a deal to sell 48 F-35 fighter jets, which has passed key Ministry of National Defense reviews. However, some in the U.S. administration and the ruling Republican Party voice concerns about weakening Israel's military edge or the risk of technology leakage to China.
Israel is currently the only country in the Middle East that possesses F-35 fighter jets, and it used them in strikes on Iran in October last year and June this year.
Saudi Arabia has long been a strategic partner of the United States, but the two countries' relations deteriorated after the October 2018 assassination of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The West, including the United States, viewed bin Salman as being behind Khashoggi's killing.
However, Trump at the time defended him, saying, "Saudi Arabia is an important partner," and after being reinstated earlier this year, chose Saudi Arabia as one of his first overseas stops in May, signaling a will to improve relations.