Trump Approves F-22 Sale to Israel

US President Donald Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Reuters)
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Trump Approves F-22 Sale to Israel

US President Donald Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Reuters)

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper arrived in Israel Thursday for a short visit and held a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Benny Gantz, followed by a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Esper informed the officials that President Donald Trump has approved the sale of F-22 fighter jets and precision-guided bombs, according to senior sources in Tel Aviv.

Esper arrived in Tel Aviv following his visit to India where he signed an agreement expanding military satellite information sharing and highlighted strategic cooperation between Washington and New Delhi with an eye toward countering China, The Associated Press reported.

According to security sources in Tel Aviv, the US-Indian agreement strengthens the regional alliance against the threat of radical Islam.

But, Esper's visit to Tel Aviv was primarily to inform Israeli officials of the US response to their demands, which Gantz raised during his two previous visits to Washington.

The sources believed that Esper's arrival to Tel Aviv aimed at two things: Ensuring US voters that the Trump administration guarantees the security of Israel, and containing the implications of advanced US arms deals, such as the F-35, to the UAE and other possible Arab countries.

Gantz presented a long list of demands including an increase in military support and another squadron of F-35 fighters, advanced model of F-15 jets, V-22 helicopter, and refueling aircraft.

Israel also requested the smart bomb, which weighs 14 tons, and F-22 jets, which is the only model that can carry that bomb. Notably, the US pledged to refrain from selling this bomb and jet to any country in the world.

Alex Fishman, a military analyst at Yedioth Ahronoth, said that Esper came to inform Gantz and Netanyahu that the US has approved their demands over this issue.

Zohar Palti, head of the Political-Military Bureau at Israel's Ministry of Defense, and the US Deputy Defense Secretary, James Anderson, reached an understanding regarding the threats that Israel will face, according to Fishman.

He said that there is an unwritten commitment that Israel will receive what it needs to confront any threat that could evolve over the next decade, before getting the full aid package.

Fishman, who is known for his close ties with the security establishment, made it clear that the US administration had pledged to provide Israel with new technology, including smart bombs to infiltrate underground bases “against the Iranian threat.”

He pointed out that Israel does not possess stealth aircraft capable of carrying the heavy bomb, but can benefit from new technology embedded in it.

Washington surprised Tel Aviv with its generosity in the technological field, claimed Fishman, adding that it pledged to change and extend the schedule of repaying Israeli debts, which would allow it to sign new contracts for buying a number of weapons.

The Israeli Ministry of Security wanted these measures completed before the US elections, to avoid obstacles with the new US administration, if the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, is elected president, noted Fishman.

However, he added that the Israeli government is unable to reach agreements within its parties, and did not succeed in holding a meeting of the armament committee, ratifying these agreements and understandings for implementation.

Fishman concluded his article by saying that he hopes all these postponements are not for personal reasons aimed at thwarting achievements that can be attributed to Gantz.



Trump Threatens Bombing if Iran Does Not Make Nuclear Deal

An Iranian painter repaints one of the famous anti-US murals in Tehran, Iran, 29 March 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An Iranian painter repaints one of the famous anti-US murals in Tehran, Iran, 29 March 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Trump Threatens Bombing if Iran Does Not Make Nuclear Deal

An Iranian painter repaints one of the famous anti-US murals in Tehran, Iran, 29 March 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An Iranian painter repaints one of the famous anti-US murals in Tehran, Iran, 29 March 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

US President Donald Trump threatened Iran on Sunday with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.
In Trump's first remarks since Iran rejected direct negotiations with Washington last week, he told NBC News that US and Iranian officials were talking, but did not elaborate.
"If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing," Trump said in a telephone interview, according to Reuters. "It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before."
"There's a chance that if they don't make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago," he added.
Iran sent a response through Oman to a letter from Trump urging Tehran to reach a new nuclear deal, saying its policy was to not engage in direct negotiations with the United States while under its maximum pressure campaign and military threats, Tehran's foreign minister was quoted as saying on Thursday.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated the policy on Sunday. "Direct negotiations (with the US) have been rejected, but Iran has always been involved in indirect negotiations, and now too, the Supreme Leader has emphasized that indirect negotiations can still continue," he said, referring to Ali Khamenei.
In the NBC interview, Trump also threatened so-called secondary tariffs, which affect buyers of a country's goods, on both Russia and Iran. He signed an executive order last week authorizing such tariffs on buyers of Venezuelan oil.
Trump did not elaborate on those potential tariffs.
In his first 2017-21 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
Trump also reimposed sweeping US sanctions. Since then, Tehran has far surpassed the agreed limits in its escalating program of uranium enrichment.
Tehran has so far rebuffed Trump's warning to make a deal or face military consequences.