US President Donald Trump on Monday, 28 July 2025, strongly defended Turkey as a key American ally and signalled that Washington would not allow objections from Israel or any other country to influence its decisions on arms exports, including the prospective sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Ankara. The remarks, made aboard Air Force One en route to Michigan, came a day before Trump's scheduled meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump's Defence of Turkey

Speaking to reporters mid-flight, Trump praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and reaffirmed the depth of Washington's ties with Ankara. 'Turkey's been a great ally for me,' Trump said. 'I think he's done a very good job. Did a good job with Syria. He's a friend of mine.' He also highlighted Turkey's military capabilities, describing it as a 'very powerful country' with a 'tremendous military.'

On Arms Sales: 'Nobody Tells Me'

Trump was unequivocal when asked whether Netanyahu's reported opposition to an F-35 sale to Turkey would weigh on the decision. 'Nobody tells me what we should be selling or not,' he said, making clear that defence export decisions would be driven by US strategic interests alone. He acknowledged the fraught state of Turkish-Israeli relations — 'Turkey's not a big fan of Israel. You know that, right? And not a big fan of Bibi' — but insisted that Turkey had been 'great' for his administration regardless.

Iran: 'They Asked Us Very Nicely to Stop'

Trump also addressed the Iran situation ahead of his talks with Netanyahu. He claimed recent US military operations had substantially degraded Iran's capabilities, asserting that Tehran was now 'eight per cent of what they were four months ago.' He said Iran had approached Washington seeking a halt to hostilities. 'Iran took a beating over the last 14 days. They asked us very nicely, "Please stop. Let's meet." That's what we are right now. See what happens. If we don't make a deal, we go back to the same thing,' Trump said. He added that he and Netanyahu were 'pretty close' on Iran despite 'a little difference.'

Netanyahu Meeting and Middle East Stakes

The Trump-Netanyahu meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, was expected to cover Iran and broader Middle East security architecture. Trump praised Netanyahu's wartime leadership — 'Bibi has been great. He was a wartime prime minister. We did very well together' — while declining to reveal whether the Israeli leader preferred continued military pressure or a diplomatic settlement with Tehran. The F-35 question is expected to add a layer of tension to the bilateral agenda, given Israel's longstanding objections to advanced US weapons reaching a country it views as adversarial.

Strategic Implications

Trump's comments underscore a broader pattern in his foreign policy: prioritising bilateral relationships and transactional arms diplomacy over the preferences of regional partners. Turkey was removed from the original F-35 programme in 2019 after Ankara purchased Russia's S-400 missile defence system, triggering US sanctions. Any reversal of that exclusion would mark a significant shift in NATO's internal dynamics and is likely to draw sharp pushback from both Congress and Tel Aviv. How Washington navigates competing alliance obligations in the coming weeks will be closely watched across the region.