Trump announces sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia ahead of crown prince's visit to Washington

President Donald Trump confirmed Monday his intention to approve the sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, on the eve of an official visit to Washington by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman scheduled for this week.

“We will be doing that; we will be selling F-35s," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. The president called Riyadh a "great ally" and highlighted its contribution in the June U.S. strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. “They want to buy; they’ve been a great ally … look at the Iran situation in terms of obliterating their—we obliterated their nuclear capability. We will be doing that; we will be selling F-35s," the Republican leader added.

A complex decision

The Republican president's decision brought caveats, especially regarding the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Along those lines.

U.S. legislation obliges the country to ensure that no arms sales to Middle Eastern countries compromise Israeli military superiority, while Israeli officials confirmed that Israel does not object to the U.S. selling F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. They stressed, however, that the transfer must be conditional on Saudi Arabia moving toward normalizing its relations with Israel, Axios reported.

However, Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, noted that Congress should demand clear answers: “Trump says we are going to sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia. Congress should ask what reliable assurances were received regarding Riyadh’s relationship with China and what additional steps the administration proposes to ensure Israel maintains its qualitative military edge,” according to The Hill.

Likewise, the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) was squarely opposed to the operation as long as Saudi Arabia did not normalize relations with Israel. Its president, Morton Klein, recalled that Riyadh “still has no formal relations with Israel, continues to boycott Israeli products, and prohibits Israelis from visiting Saudi Arabia,” according to the media.

The Abraham Accords

In parallel, the White House is pushing for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords. On Friday, Trump said aboard Air Force One that he would talk to the crown prince about normalization and expressed his desire that “Saudi Arabia will be going into the Abraham Accords fairly shortly."