Israel Trump wants to sell Saudi Arabia F-35 fighter jets
The USA wants to sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. This was announced by President Donald Trump the day before an expected visit to Washington by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Until now, the ultra-modern stealth aircraft have only been sold to close ally Israel in the region.
17.11.2025, 22:02
SDA
The Saudi crown prince departed from the airport in the capital Riyadh on Monday evening with a high-ranking delegation, as reported by the Saudi Press Agency SAP.
There was already speculation
The Saudis were counting on receiving state-of-the-art weapons technology from the USA during the visit. In particular, the F-35 fighter jets that have now been promised are highly coveted in the Gulf. The Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" had already speculated in advance that the USA, with the agreement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, could deviate from its previous doctrine that only Israel receives the latest weapons in the region.
Trump recently told journalists about the Gulf monarchy of Saudi Arabia that they want to buy a lot of F-35s, "but they actually want more than this fighter."
Saudi Arabia already the biggest arms buyer
According to the Stockholm-based peace research institute Sipri, Saudi Arabia has been the largest buyer of US weapons for years. In recent years, however, there has been occasional opposition in the US parliament to arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia - partly because of its involvement in the war in Yemen.
The murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who lived and worked in the USA, also caused diplomatic tensions. The Saudi government critic, who had worked as a columnist for the US newspaper "Washington Post" among others, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, his body was dismembered and has not been found to this day. The US intelligence services saw the Saudi crown prince as the mastermind behind the crime.
However, the Saudi heir to the throne, often only referred to as MBS, hardly needs to worry that the incident could cast a shadow over his visit to Washington. Trump, who was in the middle of his first term of office when the murder took place, had already maintained his support for Saudi Arabia at the time.
