Turkey’s S-400 Sale To Gulf State Revealed

By Staff, Agencies

Turkey has sold its S-400 air defense systems to an unnamed Gulf country, with the deal set to be officially announced on Friday.

Turkish newspaper, Hurriyet journalist Abdulkadir Selvi reported that an informed source told him Ankara finalized the sale of its S-400 systems after a deal was approved overnight on Friday.

He added that the speculated buyers are either the UAE or Qatar, noting that the information will remain unknown until an official statement is made.

Selvi noted that the US assets in the UAE being targeted by retaliatory Iranian strikes during the war on Iran were a cause for wanting an increased air defense presence.

He added that the attacks "crippled the UAE's tourism-based system," adding that it "has been trying to acquire alternative defense systems" after the Iranian retaliation.

He also brought up the "Israeli" attack on Qatar last year as a significant reason why Doha may want new air defense systems, as Qatar's Patriot missile system did not activate during the attack on the Hamas officials in the capital city due to "Israel" being coded as a friendly country.

"Qatar learned from this shock attack that it was unprotected against 'Israel'," Selvi said.

Notably, the S-400 sale could help Turkey seek relief from US CAATSA sanctions and revive its blocked access to the F-35 program, which Washington suspended after Ankara’s Russian arms purchase.