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Turkey Says No Country Can Expel It From F-35 Program

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov (L) meets Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) in Moscow, Russia on December 29, 2018. [Sefa Karacan - Anadolu Agency]
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov (L) meets Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) in Moscow, Russia on December 29, 2018. [Sefa Karacan - Anadolu Agency]
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Turkey Says No Country Can Expel It From F-35 Program

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov (L) meets Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) in Moscow, Russia on December 29, 2018. [Sefa Karacan - Anadolu Agency]
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov (L) meets Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) in Moscow, Russia on December 29, 2018. [Sefa Karacan - Anadolu Agency]

Turkey has affirmed that no country from the F-34 program can exclude it from the multinational program.

“This one-sided step neither complies with the spirit of alliance nor is it based on legitimate reasons,” Defense Industry President İsmail Demir said in a statement.

“We said that no country can be excluded from the F-35 program unilaterally. The last letter from the US justified us,” he emphasized.

An official from the Pentagon said in April that the US notified Turkey that it was officially expelled from the program.

He added that according to the statement sent to Ankara, the Joint Memorandum of Understanding opened to participant countries' signature in 2006 and signed by Turkey on January 26, 2007, has been canceled and Turkey was not included in the new agreement.

Other participants of the program were the US, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Canada, and Norway.

Turkey has ordered more than 100 of the F-35 fighter jets, spending $1.4 billion while its defense industry has invested significant sums into the warplanes’ production.

It threatened to resort to legal means after Washington halted delivery to Tukey in July 2019.

Turkey signed a deal with Russia to purchase a new batch of Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems.

A defense company owned by Turkey’s main defense industrial agency signed a contract with the Arnold & Porter law firm to provide “strategic advice and outreach” in a bid to persuade US policymakers to readmit Turkey to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

In December, US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Turkey by virtue of Katsa. The sanctions included four officials from the Defense Industry Ministry in addition to depriving Turkey of defense loans that exceed $10 million.

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Released Pro-Palestinian Protest Leader Sues Trump for $20 Mn

Former Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil at a "Welcome Home" rally on the steps of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, USA, 22 June 2025. (EPA)
Former Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil at a "Welcome Home" rally on the steps of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, USA, 22 June 2025. (EPA)
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Released Pro-Palestinian Protest Leader Sues Trump for $20 Mn

Former Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil at a "Welcome Home" rally on the steps of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, USA, 22 June 2025. (EPA)
Former Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil at a "Welcome Home" rally on the steps of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, USA, 22 June 2025. (EPA)

Mahmoud Khalil, one of the most prominent leaders of US pro-Palestinian campus protests, sued the Trump administration Thursday for $20 million over his arrest and detention by immigration agents.

Khalil, a legal permanent resident in the United States who is married to a US citizen and has a US-born son, had been in custody following his arrest in March.

The 30-year-old was freed from a federal immigration detention center in Louisiana last month, hours after a judge ordered his release on bail.

"The administration carried out its illegal plan to arrest, detain, and deport Mr. Khalil 'in a manner calculated to terrorize him and his family,' the claim says," according to the Center for Constitutional Rights which is backing Khalil.

Khalil suffered "severe emotional distress, economic hardship (and) damage to his reputation," the claim adds.

The Columbia University graduate was a figurehead of student protests against US ally Israel's war in Gaza, and the Trump administration labeled him a national security threat.

Khalil called the lawsuit a "first step towards accountability."

"Nothing can restore the 104 days stolen from me. The trauma, the separation from my wife, the birth of my first child that I was forced to miss," he said in the statement.

"There must be accountability for political retaliation and abuse of power."

Khalil has previously shared his "horrendous" experience in detention, where he "shared a dorm with over 70 men, absolutely no privacy, lights on all the time."

President Donald Trump's government has justified pushing for Khalil's deportation by saying his continued presence in the United States could carry "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences."

Khalil's detention came amid Trump's campaign against top US universities in recent months, with the president facing off against Columbia, Harvard and other schools over foreign student enrollment while cutting federal grants and threatening to strip accreditation.

Beyond his legal case, Khalil's team has expressed fear he could face threats out of detention.