The administration of US President Donald Trump has informed Congress of its intention to sell F-35s to the UAE, after Israel lifted its veto on the deal, in light of the normalization of relations between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.
Reuters quoted sources as saying today, Thursday, that the White House has notified Congress that it intends to sell 50 of these advanced warplanes, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, to the UAE.
The head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the US House of Representatives, Democratic Representative Elliot Engel, confirmed that Congress had received notification about the deal, which he said would bring about a major military change in the Gulf and affect Israel's military superiority.
Bloomberg also reported that the State Department informed Congress of the upcoming deal.
Commenting on this development, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today in press statements that Israel and the UAE face a common threat.
In reference to Iran.
Last week, Netanyahu indicated that Tel Aviv would not oppose the deal between Washington and Abu Dhabi, after his coalition partner, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, received assurances during his visit to the Pentagon that Israel would maintain its military superiority.
The Israeli Prime Minister remained opposed to such a deal until close to the normalization agreement signed by Israel and the UAE in the middle of last month under American auspices, while the US President said that he had no problem selling F-35s to the UAE.
Reuters said that the foreign affairs committees in the Senate and the House of Representatives may try to block the deal, noting that members of the two committees have criticized the UAE's role in civilian casualties in Yemen, as international organizations accuse the Saudi-Emirati coalition of killing thousands of Yemeni civilians during the past five years.
However, the Trump administration last year bypassed Congress and sold weapons and ammunition to the UAE and Saudi Arabia worth $ 8 billion, according to what is known as the "emergency law."
Reuters indicated last month that an agreement could be signed on the F-35 deal on the occasion of the UAE National Day on December 2.