US President Donald Trump was angered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public criticism of a proposed US sale of F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye, according to an Axios report published on Thursday, in the latest sign of strains between the two allies.
Citing two White House officials, Axios reported that Trump was “pissed off” after Netanyahu criticised the potential sale during a Fox News interview shortly before the US president travelled to Ankara for the NATO summit on July 7-8.
According to one official, Trump believed Netanyahu had “no right” to publicly intervene in the proposed arms deal, while another said the remarks further aggravated already growing tensions between the two leaders.
The report follows Trump’s recent signals that Washington is prepared to restore defence ties with Türkiye, including lifting sanctions imposed over Ankara’s purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence system and reopening discussions on F-35 fighter jets.
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No Trump-Netanyahu meeting scheduled
Axios also reported that no meeting between Trump and Netanyahu had been scheduled, despite Israeli media reports suggesting the Israeli premier would travel to Washington this week.
According to the report, Netanyahu had sought a meeting with Trump for more than two weeks, but White House officials said none had been confirmed.
