President Donald Trump said on Monday he plans to approve the sale of U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, speaking a day before he hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a day of diplomacy.
"I will say that we will be doing that," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "We'll be selling the F-35s."
Trump says US will sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia
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A sale would mark a significant policy shift, potentially altering the military balance in the Middle East and testing Washington's definition of maintaining Israel's "qualitative military edge."
Saudi Arabia has requested to buy as many as 48 F-35 fighter jets, a potential multibillion-dollar deal that has cleared a key Pentagon hurdle ahead of bin Salman's visit, Reuters reported early this month.
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(Photo: Air Force/Senior Airman Trevor Gordnier/Handout via REUTERS, Dana Kopel, AP/Carlos Osorio, Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS, Bashar TALEB / AFP )
The Saudis have long been interested in Lockheed Martin's fighter.
A senior White House official told Reuters before Trump spoke that the president wanted to talk to the crown prince about the jets, "then we'll make a determination."