By Emily Rose
JERUSALEM, July 8 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will discuss the possible sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, a sale likely to anger Israeli officials.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Hegseth was also scheduled to meet Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and that Iran would feature in their discussions.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Netanyahu said he opposed the sale of F-35s to Turkey, and that he had made his opposition clear to Trump.
“It would destroy the power balance in the Middle East because Turkey has aggressive aspirations,” Netanyahu told CNN.
Turkey, a NATO member, has long criticised Israeli operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and it has repeatedly accused Israel of trying to undermine the U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal mediated by Pakistan.
President Donald Trump, who is attending a NATO summit in Turkey, announced on Tuesday he would lift U.S. sanctions imposed on Ankara over its 2019 purchase of Russian air defense missiles, and he signalled a willingness to sell the NATO ally F-35 fighter jets, a move likely to face strong resistance in Congress as well as in Israel.
Bilateral relations had deteriorated sharply over Turkey’s acquisition of the Russian S-400 system, which prompted the U.S. to impose sanctions on a major Turkish defense company and remove Ankara from the F-35 stealth fighter jet program.
Ties have improved markedly since Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025 but the jet sales remain blocked under U.S. law.
(Reporting by Emily RoseEditing by Gareth Jones)
