U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he is considering agreeing to a deal to supply Saudi Arabia with F-35 stealth fighter jets, which are made by Lockheed Martin.
A Pentagon intelligence report has raised concerns over the potential deal © Mena Today
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he is considering agreeing to a deal to supply Saudi Arabia with F-35 stealth fighter jets, which are made by Lockheed Martin.
"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 was "more than meeting, we're honoring" Saudi Arabia.
He repeated that he hoped Saudi would soon join the Abraham Accords, which have normalized relations between Israel and 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.
Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt
Saudi oil giant Aramco announced Tuesday a 44% surge in net profit for the second quarter compared to the same period last year, driven by soaring crude prices amid the war in the Middle East.
Iran is betting it can outlast Washington by turning the Middle East's trade routes, shipping lanes and energy infrastructure into pressure points that steadily raise the cost of confrontation, according to Gulf officials and analysts.
Conflicting signals from the United States and Iran over the status of talks to end their five-month-old war boosted uncertainty on Tuesday, with the latest attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz highlighting risks to global energy flows.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.