Middle East — 2026-07-06

Netanyahu Urges Trump Not to Sell F-35s to Turkey Ahead of NATO Summit in Ankara

BLUFNetanyahu's public framing of F-35 transfers as an Israeli air-superiority threat raises the political cost of any quiet US-Turkey deal at Ankara but is unlikely to block one if Trump chooses transactional engagement with Erdoğan.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a Fox and Friends interview, urged President Trump not to grant Turkey F-35 fighter jets or fighter jet engines, calling President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government "a regime infected by the Muslim Brotherhood" that "hates America and chants death to America" 12. Netanyahu said the transfer would "upset the power balance in the Middle East," which he described as underpinned by Israeli air superiority and US military posture in the region 13. He cited Erdoğan's claims on Cyprus and Jerusalem, threats against NATO member Greece, and Turkish support for Hamas as further grounds for withholding the aircraft 12. The remarks came ahead of Trump's trip to Ankara for the NATO summit, where Trump is set to meet Erdoğan and has signaled openness to reviving Turkey's role in the F-35 program, from which Ankara was removed after acquiring Russia's S-400 system 2. Netanyahu separately denied any rift with Trump, saying the two "see eye-to-eye on just about everything" 2.

Analysis
Netanyahu's public appeal shifts the F-35 question from a bilateral US-Turkey technical reinstatement issue into a live Israeli-American alliance management problem days before Trump sits with Erdogan in Ankara. His framing ties any engine or aircraft transfer directly to Israeli air superiority and Iran deterrence, raising the political cost of a quiet reversal and inviting congressional allies to revisit CAATSA constraints even as Trump signals openness to Turkey's return to the program. Moderate confidence in this assessment reflects the single-outlet sourcing base and the absence of any reported US-Turkey negotiating track against which to evaluate the lobbying's actual impact. Whether Trump treats the summit as an opening for a deal-making gesture toward Erdogan or defers to Netanyahu's objection is genuinely uncertain, with no observable indicator yet pointing either way.

4 sources

Netanyahu warns Turkey should not get F-35s, citing Erdoğan's hostility toward NATO allies - Fox News
Benjamin Netanyahu warns Donald Trump against sale of F-35s to Turkey - The Jerusalem Post
Ahead of Trump's trip to Turkey, Netanyahu says Ankara shouldn't get F-35s jets - Times of Israel
Netanyahu Warns U.S. Sale of F-35 Jets to Turkey Would 'Upset Balance of Power' - Haaretz