⁍ Reuters reported on Oct. 7 that gas-rich Qatar had submitted a formal request to buy the F-35.
⁍ Israel, with which Washington consults on such sales, said it would be opposed.
⁍ U.S. officials have been open to selling the F-35 to the United Arab Emirates.
⁍ Speculation in Israeli media that the Trump administration could hold out the F-35 as an inducement for Qatar to normalise ties with Israel.
– An Israeli official says the Trump administration is open to selling the F-35 fighter jet to Qatar despite Israel’s objections, Reuters reports. “I have no doubt that if they [Qatar] want it and are willing to pay, sooner or later they will get it,” says Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, who sits in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet. “This is a supposition that we must take into account.” According to the AP, Qatar wants the F-35 to replace its aging fleet of F-16s. The F-35 is the US military’s most advanced aircraft, and it’s currently supplied only to Israel. Qatar would be the first country to buy it.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-qatar-usa-arms/israeli-minister-says-qatar-could-get-f-35s-sooner-or-later-idUSKBN27A0A6