US President Donald Trump is expected to reach an agreement with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) that would allow the kingdom to purchase advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets, according to a senior administration official quoted by Bloomberg on Friday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Trump and MBS plan to sign a series of economic and defense agreements during a scheduled visit to the White House on Tuesday. Among the deals is a purchase agreement for liquefied natural gas, though further details were not disclosed.
The sale of F-35s – manufactured by Lockheed Martin and valued at approximately $100 million per jet – would mark a significant concession to Riyadh as Washington seeks to deepen ties and encourage Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords and normalize relations with Israel.
Saudi Arabia has long sought access to the fifth-generation fighter aircraft, which are currently deployed only by Israel in the Middle East. Israeli officials have voiced concern over maintaining their exclusive access to the jets, citing the strategic advantage they provide.
The F-35 deal is one of several topics expected to be discussed during the Trump-MBS meeting, according to Bloomberg, including access to artificial intelligence chips, nuclear technology, the future of Gaza, and Saudi-Israeli relations.
The White House declined to comment on the expected agreements. Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States will have some “good deals” to sign when MBS visits Washington next week, though he did not elaborate.
The Saudi Crown Prince’s visit to Washington comes as Trump continues efforts to expand the Abraham Accords, the normalization framework he brokered in 2020 between Israel and four Arab nations: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
While the Trump administration has made repeated overtures to Riyadh, Saudi officials have long stated that a Palestinian state would be a condition for Saudi Arabia to normalize ties with Israel.
A senior member of the Saudi royal family said late last week that while normalization with Israel is not currently on the agenda, a significant American effort is expected to “lay the groundwork” for renewing the process.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News’ North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
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