Trump Says He Will Sell F-35 Fighter Jets to Saudi Arabia

President Trump said on Monday that he plans to sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, comments that came a day before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will meet with him at the White House.

“I am planning on doing that,” Trump told reporters when asked if he would allow Riyadh to purchase the US jets. “They want to buy them. They’ve been a great ally.”

Currently, Israel is the only Middle Eastern country that’s armed with F-35s, and US officials have been hesitant to sell the jets to Arab countries to uphold Israel’s so-called “qualitative military edge” in the region. Israel has previously agreed that the US could sell F-35s to the UAE as part of its 2020 normalization deal, but the sale has been put on hold, and it’s unclear if it will ever go through.