Trump Considers F-35 Sale to Saudi Ahead of Bin Salman Meeting

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he is considering approving a deal to supply Saudi Arabia with F-35 stealth fighter jets, produced by Lockheed Martin, signaling a potential major arms agreement with the kingdom.

“They wanna buy a lot of jets,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

“I’m looking at that. They’ve asked me to look at it. They want to buy a lot of ’35’ — but they want to buy actually more than that, fighter jets.”

The potential sale comes as Trump plans to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House next week, when they are expected to sign economic and defense agreements.

Asked about the talks, Trump told reporters it’s “more than meeting, we’re honoring” Saudi Arabia.

He repeated that he hopes Saudi Arabia will soon join the so-called "Abraham Accords", which have normalized relations between the "Israeli" entity and some Muslim-majority nations.

Riyadh has resisted such a step absent agreement on a roadmap to Palestinian statehood.

A Pentagon intelligence report has raised concerns over the potential F-35 deal, warning that China could acquire the aircraft’s technology if the sale proceeds, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the assessment.