US to sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia, Trump says ahead of crown prince’s visit
The United States will sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump told reporters before a White House meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“We will. We will sell F-35 planes,” Trump said. “They have been great allies.”
The leaders are expected to discuss deals on defense and civilian nuclear energy during Tuesday’s visit to the White House, the first by the de facto Saudi leader since journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents seven years ago.
According to a US intelligence assessment, Prince Mohammed approved the operation that led to the killing. The crown prince has denied any involvement in the murder.
Prince Mohammed’s last visit took place during Trump’s first term in 2018, the same year as Khashoggi’s assassination in Istanbul.
While former President Joe Biden did not welcome the crown prince and promised to make the country a “pariah” because of its human rights record, Biden visited Saudi Arabia in 2022 to reach agreements on other issues. Biden said he discussed Khashoggi’s killing during that meeting.
Trump and the crown prince previously met in Riyadh in May. There, the US agreed to sell almost $142 billion (£107 billion) worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia in what the White House described as “the largest defense sales deal in history”, part of a $600 billion investment deal. Saudi Arabia is the largest buyer of American weapons.
Some U.S. defense officials have raised concerns about a possible sale of F-35s, considered the world’s most advanced fighter jets, to Saudi Arabia. They told US media they feared it would give Saudi Arabia access to sensitive stealth technology, which the country could then share with China as part of a security partnership between the two powers.
Israeli officials are also concerned, telling U.S. and local media that a deal could potentially harm the country’s military posture. Israel is the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East and the only country in the region with F-35s.
An F-35A plane costs an average of $82.5 million, according to main manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Trump is also expected to push for Saudi Arabia to sign the Abraham Accords he created and normalize relations with Israel. The Saudis have said this is conditional on the creation of a Palestinian state – something the current Israeli government rejects.
