Overview
- President Trump said he plans to approve the F-35 sale, telling reporters the U.S. "will be selling them F-35s" ahead of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s White House meeting on November 18.
- Israeli officials told Washington they would not oppose the transfer only if it is conditioned on formal Saudi–Israel normalization, with expected demands for U.S. security guarantees and limits on deploying the jets at western Saudi bases.
- Riyadh maintains that normalization requires a credible, irreversible, time‑bound path toward a Palestinian state, a demand Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected.
- U.S. officials and analysts say the sale would affect Israel’s qualitative military edge enshrined in U.S. law, while Pentagon and intelligence concerns focus on protecting sensitive F-35 technology given Saudi ties with China.
- Negotiations also cover a U.S.–Saudi security pledge potentially via executive order plus cooperation on investments, AI and civilian nuclear energy, as Saudi leaders press to buy a large number of jets with estimates of dozens discussed.