Overview
- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he and President Donald Trump discussed Turkey’s $1.3–1.4 billion in F-35 payments, with Trump appearing supportive of delivery.
- Turkey was suspended from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program in 2019 after acquiring Russia’s S-400 air defense system, which U.S. officials argue undermines stealth security.
- The Turkish Foreign Ministry has called its removal from the program unfair and maintained that the S-400 poses no threat to F-35 operations.
- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran will not confirm any upcoming nuclear talks despite President Trump’s public suggestion that they would occur next week.
- Iran’s parliament fast-tracked a bill to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency after its director general requested access to nuclear sites to reassess uranium stockpiles.