Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, spoke about the possibility of selling the advanced plane to the Gulf • "US State Department and military are considering it"

• "Examining the possibility"

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  AFP - Archive

The son-in-law and senior adviser to the US president is referring to a possible deal between Israel and the UAE for the sale of F-35s : Jared Kushner told CNN today (Sunday) that the agreement to normalize relations between the two countries could increase the emirates' chances of "getting" F-35s. "It's something we're testing," he said.

"It is clear that we will address the requirements of the senior Israeli military echelon and do everything to the appropriate standards," he said. "But it's something the State Department and the U.S. military are looking into."

The F-35 project is probably the culmination of cooperation between Israel and the United States in the military field and of providing a quality advantage to the IDF. Israel was involved in the development of the aircraft, which is considered the most advanced in the world, and received permission to install its own systems.

At a news conference at the White House last week, Trump said the UAE is interested in buying F-35s, and is offering a lot of money for them. "They have the money and they would like to order some F-35s, it will be tested now. It is the best fighter in the world." He later added that they had "made tremendous progress towards peace in the Middle East".

At the same time, the New York Times reported that the United States arms deal with the United Arab Emirates was being promoted by Kushner, who is known to have been at the center of negotiations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates on the way to the historic peace agreement. The Times also noted that Trump and Kushner, along with other White House officials, support the sale of weapons to the Gulf states, which has previously led to a conflict with the US Congress.

However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last Wednesday that there is no overt or covert agreement to sell arms to the UAE. "There's Pike News around the matter, it's hard to respect the fact that we made peace for peace. It will give its signals in the coming years," he said.