Israel Signs $5.2 Bln Deal to F-15 Fighter Jets from Boeing

FILE PHOTO: A F-15 fighter jet takes off during a graduation ceremony for Israeli Air Force pilots at Hatzerim Airbase, in southern Israel, June 29, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A F-15 fighter jet takes off during a graduation ceremony for Israeli Air Force pilots at Hatzerim Airbase, in southern Israel, June 29, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
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Israel Signs $5.2 Bln Deal to F-15 Fighter Jets from Boeing

FILE PHOTO: A F-15 fighter jet takes off during a graduation ceremony for Israeli Air Force pilots at Hatzerim Airbase, in southern Israel, June 29, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A F-15 fighter jet takes off during a graduation ceremony for Israeli Air Force pilots at Hatzerim Airbase, in southern Israel, June 29, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

The Israeli defense ministry said on Thursday it had signed an agreement to acquire 25 next generation F-15 fighter jets from Boeing Co.

It said the $5.2 billion agreement was part of a broader package of US aid approved by the US administration and Congress earlier this year and included an option for 25 additional aircraft.

The United States has provided crucial military support to Israel as it has battled Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and traded fire with Iran.
The Biden administration recently warned Israel that if it did not facilitate the delivery of more aid to Gaza, US laws may force the administration to curb some of its military support.
The State Department said this week that Israel had yet to sufficiently improve aid deliveries ahead of a mid-November deadline.
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to end the wars in the Middle East without saying how he plans to do it.

Delivery of the new F-15IA aircraft will begin in 2031, with 4-6 aircraft to be supplied annually, said the Israeli defense ministry.

The aircraft will be equipped with weapons systems integrated with existing Israeli weapons as well as having increased range and payloads.

"These advantages will enable the Israeli Air Force to maintain its strategic superiority in addressing current and future challenges in the Middle East," the ministry said in a statement.

"This F-15 squadron, alongside the third F-35 squadron procured earlier this year, represents a historic enhancement of our air power and strategic reach - capabilities that proved crucial during the current war," the director general of the defense ministry, Eyal Zamir, said in the statement.

Zamir said that the government has secured procurement agreements worth nearly $40 billion since the onset of the war in Gaza that began Oct. 7, 2023.

"While focusing on immediate needs for advanced weaponry and ammunition at unprecedented levels, we're simultaneously investing in long-term strategic capabilities," he said.

For Boeing, the F-15 agreement is the second major deal this year. In August, flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines, signed a deal with Boeing for the purchase of up to 31 737 MAX aircraft worth as much as $2.5 billion, beating out rival Airbus.

Ido Nehushtan, president of Boeing Israel, said the company's relationship dates back to Israel's establishment and "will continue working with the US and Israeli governments to deliver the advanced F-15IA aircraft through standard military procurement channels."



US Voices Hope on Iran Deal Progress Before Pakistan Army Chief Visit

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding his plane at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding his plane at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS
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US Voices Hope on Iran Deal Progress Before Pakistan Army Chief Visit

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding his plane at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding his plane at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope on Thursday of progress on ending the war with Iran, with mediator Pakistan's army chief due to arrive in Iran for talks.

The expected visit by Field Marshal Asim Munir, a powerful figure with a growing role in Pakistan's foreign relations, comes a day after US President Donald Trump warned that negotiations to end the war were on the "borderline" between a deal and renewed strikes.

"I believe the Pakistanis will be travelling to Tehran today. So hopefully that'll advance this further," Rubio told reporters on Thursday, according to Reuters.

A ceasefire on April 8 halted the war launched weeks earlier by the US and Israel, but negotiation efforts have so far failed to yield a lasting peace agreement.

A war of words has taken the place of open conflict but the impasse continues to weigh on the world economy, leaving everyone from investors to farmers in a painful state of uncertainty.

On Thursday, Iran's ISNA news agency said Munir's visit was aimed at continuing "talks and consultations" with Iranian authorities, without providing details. Other Iranian media carried the same report.

Pakistan hosted in April the only direct negotiations between US and Iranian officials to take place since February 28, the day the war began.

Munir was at the center of the action during that round of talks, greeting both delegations on their arrival and displaying remarkable bonhomie with US Vice President JD Vance.

But the talks ultimately failed, with Iran accusing the US of making "excessive demands".

Since then, the two sides have exchanged multiple proposals, with the threat of renewed war looming all along.

"It's right on the borderline, believe me," Trump told reporters Wednesday. "If we don't get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We're all ready to go."

He said a deal could come "very quickly" or "in a few days", but warned Tehran would have to provide "100 percent good answers".

Rubio also criticized NATO allies for their refusal to help Trump's war against Iran.

"He's not asking them to commit troops. He's not asking them to send their fighter jets in. But they refuse to do anything," he said.

"We were very upset about that."

Tehran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday accused Washington of seeking to restart the war, warning of a "forceful response" if Iran were to be attacked.

"The enemy's movements, both overt and clandestine, show that despite economic and political pressure, it has not abandoned its military objectives and is seeking to start a new war," Ghalibaf said.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran was examining points received from Washington, while repeating Tehran's demands for the release of its assets frozen abroad and an end to a US naval blockade.

Trump is under political pressure at home as energy costs rise.

The ceasefire halted the fighting but has not reopened the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that normally carries about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.

The future of Hormuz remains a key sticking point in the negotiations, with fears growing that the global economy will feel more pain as pre-war oil stockpiles run down.

Iran imposed the blockade of Hormuz as part of its retaliation in the war, allowing only a trickle of vessels through in recent weeks while introducing a toll system.


Trump Postpones Signing Order on AI Oversight

US President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 21 May 2026. EPA/AL DRAGO / POOL NEWS SERVICE OK
US President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 21 May 2026. EPA/AL DRAGO / POOL NEWS SERVICE OK
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Trump Postpones Signing Order on AI Oversight

US President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 21 May 2026. EPA/AL DRAGO / POOL NEWS SERVICE OK
US President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 21 May 2026. EPA/AL DRAGO / POOL NEWS SERVICE OK

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had postponed signing an executive order on AI because he "didn't like certain aspects of it."

Trump had planned to sign the order at a ceremony on Thursday afternoon attended by CEOs of AI companies.

The order would create a voluntary framework for AI developers to ⁠engage with the ⁠US government before the public release of covered models, two sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

The president also had planned to direct the US government to use the advanced models to improve the cybersecurity defenses of ⁠government systems, along with networks owned by sectors that are vital to the nation's economy, such as banks and hospitals, according to another source.

Concerns are growing across the US government and in the private sector about the cybersecurity risks posed by powerful new AI systems, including Anthropic’s Mythos.

Anthropic has warned that Mythos could supercharge complex cyberattacks, though cybersecurity experts ⁠told ⁠Reuters that fears of unfettered hacking are overstated.

The president's executive order, if implemented, could hurt the industry's profits if it slows the rollout of new models or prompts companies to change how they perform to address security concerns.

Trump, who spoke to reporters on Thursday in the Oval Office, did not say which parts of the order he didn't like.


Teen Among 3 Dead in Türkiye after Floods, Landslides Hit Southern Province

FILE - A Navy officer helps a woman cross a flooded street after heavy rain in Poza Rica, Veracruz state, Mexico, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)
FILE - A Navy officer helps a woman cross a flooded street after heavy rain in Poza Rica, Veracruz state, Mexico, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)
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Teen Among 3 Dead in Türkiye after Floods, Landslides Hit Southern Province

FILE - A Navy officer helps a woman cross a flooded street after heavy rain in Poza Rica, Veracruz state, Mexico, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)
FILE - A Navy officer helps a woman cross a flooded street after heavy rain in Poza Rica, Veracruz state, Mexico, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)

Three people have died during flooding in southern Türkiye on Thursday, officials said, as the Interior Ministry issued weather warnings for 15 of the country's 81 provinces.

Heavy rainfall in Hatay, the province most affected by a devastating earthquake in 2023, caused the Asi river, also known as the Orontes, to break its banks, submerging fields and villages. Roads and bridges were also washed away, The Associated Press reported.

Among the victims was a 15-year-old boy who died in a house that collapsed during a landslide in Antakya, the provincial capital, Hatay Gov. Mustafa Masatli said.

A 66-year-old man died when his car rolled into a ditch in Defne, while and another man, aged 62, was swept away in floodwaters in the Samandag district.

Masatli said the flooding had caused significant damage to agriculture across 2,900 hectares (7,166 acres) as disaster teams continued to assess the impact. Firefighters rescued many people by boat as residents bailed out their homes and tried to hold the waters at bay with makeshift barriers.