Trump before meeting Netanyahu: we have a small difference over Iran, and no one dictates F-35 sales to Türkiye to me

US President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters on Monday, 27 July 2026 (5 Mordad 1405), said there is a small difference between his position and that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Iran, but that overall their views are very close. The remarks came ahead of the two leaders' meeting in Washington later this week, a meeting Netanyahu had said would have Iran at the top of its agenda.

Responding to Netanyahu's objection to the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye, Trump also said no one dictates to him what weapons to sell to which country. According to CNN, he had said earlier this month that he was examining the possibility of selling the jets to Türkiye, a step currently constrained under US law because Ankara operates Russian-made air defence systems. Trump said of Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he is a friend, and described Türkiye as a tremendous ally, while acknowledging that Türkiye has no fondness for Israel.

In the same exchange, the US president said no discussion had yet taken place with Saudi Arabia about the kingdom possibly joining the Abraham Accords. That follows his statement on Thursday, 23 July, that a nuclear cooperation agreement between Washington and Riyadh would be conditional on Saudi Arabia joining those accords. The direction of US diplomacy in the region is one of the main variables behind the risk premium in the oil market and in Iran's currency market.