Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said on Sunday that Israel would oppose any U.S. deal to sell F-35 fighter jets to Qatar, which supports Islamist forces in the region.
In an interview with Army Radio, Cohen said, “Our security and military superiority in the region are the most significant things for us. Our region has still not turned into Switzerland,” reported Reuters, which previously reported that Qatar had submitted a formal request to Washington to purchase the jet.
This comes after a report in September that Israel objected to a formal request by the United Arab Emirates to acquire F-35s from the United States, which came a week after the UAE normalized ties with Israel as part of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, signed on Sept. 15 at the White House.