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Thursday, November 20, 2025
Netanyahu says Rubio assured him Israel’s military edge will remain despite Saudi F-35 deal
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio guaranteed him that Israel’s “qualitative military edge” will remain intact in a phone call following US President Donald Trump’s announcement this week that he would sell F-35 warplanes to Saudi Arabia.
“Regarding the F-35, I had a long conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who reiterated his commitment that the United States will continue to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge in everything related to supplying weapons and military systems to countries in the Middle East,” Netanyahu says in a lengthy Hebrew-language interview with “Abu Ali Express,” a popular account on the Telegram messaging app.
Netanyahu says that Rubio assured him the US is “committed to maintaining Israel’s qualitative edge in all areas, including Israel’s advantage regarding the supply of F-35 aircraft,” adding that the advantage is anchored in US law.
“Beyond that, I prefer not to elaborate,” he adds.
Yesterday, US officials and defense experts told Reuters that the F-35 fighter jets to be sold to Saudi Arabia will be less advanced than those used by the IDF, after Israel expressed concerns on the matter.
The Times of Israel Community.