Trump: ‘No problem’ selling F-35 jets to UAE

WASHINGTON ― U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he personally would have “no problem” selling the advanced F-35 fighter jet to the United Arab Emirates, despite objections from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I would have no problem in selling them the F-35, I would have absolutely no problem,” Trump told Fox News in an interview ahead of a signing ceremony at the White House for agreements normalizing relations between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain later on Tuesday.

Trump also said he would be willing to sell other Middle Eastern countries the same weapons systems sold to Israel. He noted the region’s wealth and said it would be good for the United States and American jobs.

“They’re very wealthy countries for the most part, like the UAE, and they would like to buy the fighter jets, and I personally would have no problem with it,” Trump said. “Some people do, they say maybe they go to war.”

Trump affirmed that his strategy is to forge pacts with other Mideastern nations in an effort to push the Palestinians toward negotiating a peace deal with Israel.

Even though Trump favors the sales, there’s no guarantee they would happen. The F-35 sale, a longtime request from Abu Dhabi , is not written into the UAE-Israel deal, Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash told reporters Monday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., warned any such sales would demand congressional scrutiny and said Congress must protect Israel’s military edge, even as he hailed the bilateral agreement.

“In this case, we in Congress have an obligation to review any U.S. arm sales package linked to the deal,” McConnell said in a floor speech Monday. “As we help our Arab partners defend against growing threats, we must continue ensuring that Israel’s qualitative military edge remains unchallenged.”

Likewise, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was among Democrats who questioned whether F-35 sales were part of the deal.

“As we learn more about the full details of both agreements, questions remain – specifically, regarding the commitment that the UAE has received from the Trump Administration to purchase American-made F-35 aircraft,” Pelosi said in a statement Tuesday. “The U.S. Congress, on a bipartisan basis, will be watching and monitoring to ensure that Israel can maintain its qualitative military edge in the region.”

Netanyahu has said he would oppose the arms sale, despite the historic UAE deal, amid reports that the normalization accord that Trump brokered included language to supply the Arab Gulf nation with advanced U.S. weapons systems.

Maintaining Israel’s regional military supremacy has been a hallmark of Israeli policy for decades, and the country has used its close ties with Washington to ensure that certain sophisticated weapons are not sold to neighboring countries. It’s reported the UAE has long been interested in acquiring American-made F-35 stealth fighter jets and attack drones like those used by Israel.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Joe Gould was the senior Pentagon reporter for Defense News, covering the intersection of national security policy, politics and the defense industry. He had previously served as Congress reporter.

华盛顿——美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周二表示，尽管以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡反对，但他个人“完全不介意”向阿拉伯联合酋长国出售先进的F-35战斗机。

“我卖给他们F-35战斗机没有任何问题，绝对没有任何问题，”特朗普在周二晚些时候于白宫举行的以色列、阿联酋和巴林关系正常化协议签署仪式前接受福克斯新闻采访时表示。

特朗普还表示，他愿意向其他中东国家出售与以色列相同的武器系统。他指出该地区的富裕程度，并表示这将有利于美国和美国的就业。

特朗普说：“他们大多是非常富裕的国家，比如阿联酋，他们想购买战斗机，我个人对此没有意见。有些人反对，他们说可能会发动战争。”

特朗普重申，他的策略是与其他中东国家达成协议，以推动巴勒斯坦人与以色列进行和平谈判。

尽管特朗普支持这笔军售，但并不能保证一定会达成。阿联酋外交国务部长安瓦尔·加尔加什周一告诉记者，阿布扎比长期以来一直要求购买F-35战斗机，但这项军售并未写入阿联酋与以色列的协议中。

参议院多数党领袖、肯塔基州共和党参议员米奇·麦康奈尔警告说，任何此类军售都需要国会的审查，并表示国会必须保护以色列的军事优势，尽管他同时对这项双边协议表示赞赏。

“在这种情况下，国会有义务审查任何与该协议相关的美国武器销售方案，”麦康奈尔周一在国会发言时说。“在我们帮助我们的阿拉伯伙伴抵御日益增长的威胁的同时，我们必须继续确保以色列的军事优势不受挑战。”

同样，众议院议长、加州民主党人南希·佩洛西也和其他民主党人一样，质疑F-35战斗机的销售是否包含在协议中。

佩洛西周二在一份声明中表示：“随着我们对这两项协议的全部细节了解得更多，仍然存在一些疑问——特别是关于阿联酋从特朗普政府获得购买美国制造的F-35战机的承诺。”她补充道：“美国国会将以两党合作的方式密切关注事态发展，以确保以色列能够保持其在该地区的军事优势。”

尽管阿联酋达成了历史性的军售协议，但内塔尼亚胡表示他将反对这笔军售。此前有报道称，特朗普斡旋达成的正常化协议中包含向这个阿拉伯海湾国家提供先进美国武器系统的条款。

几十年来，维护以色列在该地区军事上的霸权一直是其政策的标志性特征。以色列利用与华盛顿的密切关系，确保某些先进武器不会出售给邻国。据报道，阿联酋长期以来一直有意购买美国制造的F-35隐形战斗机和攻击无人机，就像以色列使用的那些一样。

美联社对本报道亦有贡献。

乔·古尔德是《防务新闻》的资深五角大楼记者，负责报道国家安全政策、政治和国防工业的交汇点。他此前曾担任国会记者。