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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged the United States not to proceed with the sale of advanced weapons systems to Turkey, as US President Donald Trump travels to Turkey for the NATO summit.
Speaking to Fox News, Netanyahu launched a sharp attack on Ankara, describing Turkey as “a regime influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood”.
“I do not believe they should be given F-35s or engines for their fighter aircraft,” he said, referring to remarks made by Trump last month suggesting he could approve the sale of F110 engines for Turkish fighter jets and support Turkey’s return to the F-35 program.
‘The Balance of Power Will Be Disrupted’
Netanyahu argued that such a move could “upset the balance of power in the Middle East”, which, he said, is safeguarded by Israel’s air superiority as well as the US military presence in the region.
The Israeli Prime Minister described Turkey as “a major country”, but strongly criticised President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He said Turkey is led by a leader who “openly threatens Israel with destruction” and “occupies half of Cyprus”.
‘Trump and I See Eye to Eye on Almost Everything’
Netanyahu also said that no date has yet been set for his visit to Washington or his meeting with Trump, while seeking to play down recent disagreements over the US-Iran memorandum of understanding.
“We see eye to eye on almost everything,” he said of his relationship with the US President. “We disagree from time to time, but we resolve those differences because we are allies,” he added, noting that both sides openly discuss the issues on which they differ.
“The President has his own way of expressing himself, and I have mine,” Netanyahu said. “We are allies. We are your model ally,” he stressed.
‘A Battle of Freedom Against Fanaticism’
Turning to Iran, Netanyahu said that the Islamic Republic “is not a friend of America” and must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons or the means to deliver them.
“This is a battle of freedom against fanaticism,” he said.
Asked why the Iranian regime remains in power, Netanyahu replied that it has “several hundred thousand thugs who kill and murder their own citizens day and night”.
Netanyahu also said that Israel wants to see progress in the peace process with Lebanon, arguing that the weakening of Iran “has opened the way for more peace agreements”.
In closing, marking the 250th anniversary of the United States, Netanyahu described the US as “a tremendous force for good”, saying that “without America, there would be no democracy or freedom in the world”.
InquisitivelyUpright on July 6th, 2026 at 20:21 UTC »
The S-400 angle is the real one here, not the rhetoric. Turkey operates Russian air defense systems that can map F-35 stealth signatures and feed them back to Moscow, which is a documented problem the US has raised for years. Handing them cutting edge jets regardless of what Netanyahu says would be stupid from a pure intelligence standpoint.
But Netanyahu citing "occupation" while settlement expansion continues is pretty rich. His motivations are clearly about regional power, not principle. He only cares about Turkey getting jets because it shifts the balance against Israel specifically.
Trump will probably dangle it as leverage anyway. The F-35 has become a bargaining chip at this point, offered and withheld to pressure everyone from the UAE to India. Turkey probably stays blocked but gets offered some smaller package as a carrot down the line.
Sasquatchii on July 6th, 2026 at 20:09 UTC »
I mean, it seems pretty obvious you don't want to sell F35s to a country you might have to face off against one day. I don't know enough about geopolitics to know if that does or doesn't describe Turkey.
Persimmon-Mission on July 6th, 2026 at 19:19 UTC »
We should not sell them to turkey because of their relationship with Russia and using their radar systems
I really don’t care what bibi thinks about it though