Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner told CNN Sunday that the U.S.-brokered normalization deal between Israel and the UAE increases the probability that the Trump administration would agree to sell F-35 jets to the UAE.
Why it matters: Israel is the only country in the Middle East to possess the F-35, the United States' most advanced fighter aircraft. Reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed off on potential sales to the UAE — which he denies — ignited a political controversy in Israel.
What he's saying: The issue is currently under review by the State Department and the Pentagon, Kushner said.
- He stressed that the Trump administration is committed to maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge, but added that the UAE is a good military partner for the U.S. and that there's a chance the F-35 deal will take place after Israel-UAE normalization.
The big picture: Kushner echoed similar statements by Emirati officials on the issue. The UAE's minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said last Thursday that his country's normalization deal with Israel should "make it easier" to buy F-35 fighter jets from the U.S.
- "We have legitimate requests that are there and we ought to get them," Gargash said in a virtual briefing to the Atlantic Council.
- "Now the whole idea of a state of war with Israel will no longer exist, and so it will make it easier for the U.S. to sell us the planes."
- Gargash said he doesn't understand why Israel is so concerned about the potential sale. “I don’t know how much of it is domestic Israeli politics," he said.