US President Donald Trump has confirmed that America will sell F-35 fighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia. He said that these jets will be similar to the planes that have been given to Israel. Saudi Arabia has formally requested to purchase 48 F-35 jets. Upon completion of this deal, Israel’s status as the ‘sole operator’ of the F-35 in the Middle East will end. At the same time, the news of Saudi Arabia getting F-35 fighter aircraft may also increase the concern for India. The reason for this is the defense agreement on which Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had earlier agreed and which was much discussed at the global level.

Will Pakistan benefit from Saudi’s F-35?
This big question is arising because under that defense agreement, an attack on Pakistan will be considered an attack on Saudi. In such a situation, the concern is whether Pakistan can get indirect benefits from Saudi’s advanced weapons, like F-35? America exports advanced aircraft like F-35 with very strict controls. It provides them only to trusted countries and this involves strict rules related to consent of other partner countries, security guarantees, training and maintenance. Therefore, experts believe that after giving F-35 to Saudi, America will consider it a big risk to allow them to be shared with any other country, especially Pakistan.

Trump said – both are our close partners
Trump, sitting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House, was asked that when America follows the policy of maintaining Israel’s military advantage, then how was the decision taken to give F-35 to Saudi also?

Trump responded that both Israel and Saudi are America’s ‘close partners’. He jokingly told the Crown Prince that Israel wanted the Saudis to be given ‘less capable jets’, ‘but I don’t think you would have been happy with that.’ Trump further said- ‘According to me, both the countries should get the best technology. We are going to make a deal. Saudi will buy F-35.

Is the F-35 deal linked to Israel-Saudi normalization?
The media asked Trump whether this arms deal is related to the possible process of normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel? Trump avoided giving a direct answer and just said – ‘Israel knows about the deal and they will be very happy with it.’

MBS reached White House after seven years, received grand welcome
This was the first visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House in the last seven years. He was given a grand welcome on the South Lawn with a military guard of honour, a gun salute and a flyover of American fighter planes.

Announcement to increase Saudi investment to 1 trillion dollars
During the meeting, MBS said that Saudi Arabia will increase its planned investment in America from $600 billion to $1 trillion. Trump immediately replied – ‘Okay, I liked it very much.’ When the Crown Prince was asked how such a large investment would be maintained despite low oil prices, he said that these deals – especially investments related to the semiconductor sector – are part of Saudi Arabia’s long-term development plans. Trump reiterated during the meeting that his mix of trade policies and diplomacy would result in $21 trillion in investment commitments by the end of the year.

US President Donald Trump rejected a report by US intelligence agencies during his meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) at the White House. The report claimed that the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 was approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) himself. But Trump said that MBS had no knowledge of this matter.

Trump got angry on reporter’s question
An ABC News reporter asked Trump that when American agencies themselves hold the Crown Prince responsible for Khashoggi’s murder, why should the American public trust them?
Even before the question could be completed, Trump spoke angrily – ‘You are fake news, you are mentioning someone who has been very controversial. The gentleman (Khashoggi) you are talking about was not liked by many people. Things happen whether you like them or not, but the Crown Prince didn’t know anything about it. And we can leave it here. There is no need to embarrass our guest by asking such a question.

Crown Prince’s statement – ‘It was a painful mistake’
MBS also answered this question and described the murder as ‘painful’. He said that losing someone’s life unnecessarily or illegally is a very sad incident. According to the Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia has made improvements in its system so that such a mistake does not happen again.

Trump also praised human rights
Trump also went ahead and praised MBS’s human rights reforms, although he did not give any concrete examples. He said- ‘I am very proud of his work. He has done amazing work in many areas including human rights.

Biden first stayed away, then the strategy had to be changed
During the 2020 election campaign, Joe Biden called Saudi Arabia a ‘pariah’ country. After becoming president, he maintained a distance from the Crown Prince, but in 2022, when oil prices rose due to the Russia-Ukraine war, Biden had to improve relations. In July the same year, he reached Jeddah and met MBS and demanded to increase oil production.

Grand welcome and announcement of big investment
Trump gave a grand welcome to the Crown Prince at the White House. Although it was not an official state visit, as the Crown Prince is not formally head of the country, he is governing in place of his ailing father. During this, MBS announced to increase investment in America from $600 billion to $1 trillion. He described America as ‘the most attractive investment country in the world’.

Clear warning from American intelligence report
In the American intelligence report released in 2021, it was clearly written that the Crown Prince had approved the murder of Khashoggi. After this, the Biden administration issued the ‘Khashoggi Policy’, under which visa restrictions are imposed on those who target journalists and activists by foreign governments.