F-35

The question is not whether the Saudis are friendly today, but whether the United States can trust any autocratic regime with advanced weapon systems.

The potential sale of the fighter jets to Saudi Arabia had raised concerns about Israel's ability to maintain its qualitative military edge in the region.

The US President also discussed a possible deal to supply Saudi Arabia with dozens of F-35 fighter jets ahead of an upcoming White House meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

A Pentagon report also warns of the risk that China could acquire the advanced fighter jet technology through espionage or its security partnership with Saudi Arabia.

Saudi negotiators push for a Senate-approved pact with Washington while insisting that any path to normalization with Israel depends on concrete steps toward a Palestinian state.

The UK Court of Appeal ruled that the export of F-35 components was a matter of national security for which the government, not an NGO, was responsible.

Al-Haq, a Ramallah-based Palestinian human rights organization, and nine other advocacy groups urged the Dutch government to cease exporting goods and weapons to Israel.

The Trump administration might sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia without Riyadh agreeing to recognise Jerusalem, in a move that could shake up the Middle East.

Until now, Israel remains the only Middle Eastern country to operate F-35s, but Saudi Arabia is the largest customer for US arms sales.

Trump also said he could lift sanctions against Turkey "very soon," and that "if we have a good meeting, almost immediately."

The decades-old F-16 "Barak" aircraft managed to strike in Iran without refueling, and added significant capacity to the Israel Air Force’s strike capability.