The Blogs: F-35s Aren’t Needed for Saudi in Abraham Accords

Washington is once again flirting with the idea of selling F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. Proponents argue that the Kingdom’s fear of Iran justifies handing over America’s most advanced aircraft. But foreign policy cannot be built on wishful thinking or on the assumption that today’s interests will last forever. The Middle East’s history offers a stark warning: once the United States gives away its technological crown jewels, it cannot get them back—and it cannot control how they will be used.

In the 1990s, Turkey was hailed as the model Muslim democracy: secular, NATO-integrated, and firmly aligned with the West. Western governments opened every door—advanced weapons, EU accession talks, intelligence cooperation, and full integration into NATO’s most sensitive programs.

Then came Erdoğan. Turkey drifted toward political Islam, authoritarianism, and confrontation with the very allies that once empowered it. Its military—equipped and trained by the West—threatened Greece, attacked US Kurdish partners, and embraced Moscow. The purchase of the Russian S-400 didn’t just defy NATO; it destroyed decades of carefully built air-defense interoperability.

If this could happen with a NATO ally and former democracy, what confidence should America have in Saudi Arabia—an absolute monarchy that has never held an election?

Saudi leadership can pivot overnight. Recent years show Riyadh coordinating oil cuts with Russia that harm US interests, deepening ties with China, and conducting regional operations with little regard for American objectives. Entrusting an unelected regime with the F-35’s stealth, sensors, and electronic warfare capabilities is not prudence—it is risk. Once those systems leave US control, they are gone forever.

If Saudi Arabia ever needs real military assistance, it should—at least until it proves to be a reliable partner—rely on America’s military edge in the region. After all, this is why the US military is heavily deployed in the Middle East: to protect allies, deter aggression, and maintain stability without transferring its most advanced technology.

Some argue that F-35s are the price for bringing Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords. But the Accords were designed to normalize relations and reduce tensions through diplomacy—not to reward military procurement. If Riyadh truly seeks peace, that intention should stand on its own merits. Making advanced weapons a precondition flips the logic of the Accords: peace becomes a reward for firepower, rather than a demonstration of goodwill and restraint.

Egypt and Jordan receive enormous US military aid—yet during the recent Gaza war, neither accepted a single Gazan refugee. These states rely on American protection but refuse to shoulder even symbolic humanitarian responsibility. Before handing out the world’s most advanced aircraft, the US should ask whether its partners are willing to contribute to something as basic as moral responsibility. If they will not, they have not earned the F-35.

Israel’s qualitative military edge is a bipartisan American priority. The Middle East is unpredictable: regimes fall, alliances shift, and internal power struggles can flip foreign policy overnight. Giving the F-35 to Saudi Arabia—the region’s most powerful autocracy—would accelerate an arms race. Qatar, the UAE, and others would demand parity. Iran would expand its missiles, drones, and proxy networks. Israel would face another neighbor armed with capabilities it cannot ignore. The result would not be peace—it would be escalation.

America has already seen the consequences of trusting a strategically aligned partner will always stay aligned. Turkey was the warning. Selling the F-35 to Saudi Arabia would be the sequel—only with higher stakes and fewer safeguards.

The United States should welcome Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords. It should strengthen diplomatic, economic, and security cooperation wherever interests align. But the F-35 should never be the price of admission. Some foreign-policy mistakes can be undone. This one cannot. The F-35 is a gift that cannot be returned—only regretted.