A bipartisan group of US House lawmakers is urging the Trump administration not to approve the sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey, warning that Ankara's continued possession of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system poses a serious threat to US military technology.
In a letter sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the lawmakers argued that moving forward with the sale would jeopardize American national security, weaken trust among key regional allies, and reward Turkey despite longstanding concerns over its defense ties with Moscow.
The letter from congressional representatives further warned that the Russian defense system "poses a direct threat to US military aircraft, including the F-16 and the F-35, by enabling Russian intelligence to gain insights into sensitive US technologies if these systems are operated alongside one another."
The lawmakers also cautioned that approving the sale would undermine US credibility with allies that have consistently supported Washington's strategic interests in the Eastern Mediterranean.
"Such a decision would also send the wrong message to America's allies and partners. Key US partners in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Greece, Cyprus, and Israel, have consistently aligned with and supported US security interests.
"Granting Ankara access to advanced American fighter aircraft despite its conduct would undermine these partnerships and embolden Turkey to intensify its aggressive behavior in the region, thereby jeopardizing the regional stability that we have worked so hard to preserve."
Netanyahu says Trump must remember Erdogan's anti-Israel statements
The lawmakers also highlighted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's repeated threats against Israel, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned during this week's cabinet meeting.
"Hardly a day goes by that Erdogan doesn't call for the destruction of the State of Israel," Netanyahu said Sunday.
"We take these words very seriously, because if we have learned one thing in the history of our people, when someone says he intends to destroy you, take him seriously. We take things seriously, and we will also draw the attention of our American friends to these statements. We do not ignore them."
Later on Sunday, MK Amit Halevi (Likud) called for the Turkish Consulate in Jerusalem to be shut down. He claimed that it had become a de facto embassy for Hamas.
"The Turkish Consulate must be expelled from Jerusalem," he said. "This extremist Islamist dictator (Erdogan), who hosts senior Hamas officials in Ankara and Istanbul both before and after the October 7th massacres, cannot be permitted to facilitate their agenda here.
"What is happening inside this consulate is the direct, daily promotion and support of Hamas. We are dealing not only with historical atrocities from a century ago, but with a genocidal agenda against the Jewish state today that Turkey, under Erdogan’s leadership, fully and completely supports. This must end."