The Government of Israel would ask for security guarantees in the event that the sale of US F-35 fighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia goes through, Axios reported, citing two Israeli officials who commented on the imminent transaction.
The crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, meets this Tuesday with Donald Trump, president of the United States, at the White House in search of an agreement on aircraft, raising concerns among members of the Israeli Government.
“We told the Trump Administration that the supply of F-35s to Saudi Arabia must be subject to Saudi normalization with Israel,” declared one of the Israeli officials anonymously, who stressed that not receiving any type of diplomatic benefit in exchange for the F-35s would be a “mistake” with “counterproductive” effects.
However, officials in the Hebrew nation expressed confidence about Trump’s relations with the Arab nation, as they hope that the American president can integrate Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords.
“Unlike the supply of F-35s to Turkey which we strongly oppose, we are less concerned about such a weapons system in Saudi Arabia if it is part of regional security cooperation as part of the Abraham Accords, as we have with the United Arab Emirates,” said a second official from the Hebrew country quoted by the media.
“It takes minutes for an F-35 to fly from Saudi Arabia to Israel,” the official added. Axios indicates that Israel is likely to request that such aircraft not be deployed to Saudi air force bases located in the western parts of the country.
It should be remembered that Israel is the only nation that currently has such combat aircraft in the region. The supply of the F-35s to Saudi Arabia would be a key point for the military balance in the Middle East. For his part, Trump has already confirmed that he will sell the F-35s to the Arab nation if an agreement is reached with its leaders. With RT
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