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U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he does not foresee F-35 sales to Türkiye "happening anytime," citing Türkiye's possession of Russian equipment as a "no-go" and the U.S. commitment to Israel's "quantitative military advantage."
"I know he's made the comments, but there are a couple of legal hurdles that would still have to be cleared. I don't foresee this happening anytime. I really don't," Huckabee told Israeli media outlet i24NEWS when asked about U.S. President Donald Trump's comments on potential F-35 sales to Türkiye and Qatar.
"Partly because Türkiye still has Russian equipment, which would be then a no-go for us being able to sell them F-35s," Huckabee said.
Huckabee emphasized the U.S. commitment to maintaining Israel's military edge in the region, saying, "The other is we still have the very definite agreement with Israel on quantitative military advantage, and that is a long-standing policy where we don't supply anyone anything that would take away Israel's quantitative military advantage, meaning that Israel is always going to have the freshest, the best, the most advanced technology that we have."
"Because once again, it is in our best interest. This isn't charity. This is a partnership. There's a big difference, and a lot of people, maybe even in Israel, don't fully understand it," he added.
When asked whether Trump would push Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow Turkish involvement in a Gaza force, Huckabee said he does not think Türkiye will have a role as long as the Israelis feel it is not something they can absorb.
"When it comes down to whether the Turks will have a role, I don't think they will as long as the Israelis feel that it is not something that they can absorb," Huckabee said.
"I think the comments that Erdogan has made, some of which are very incendiary, are troubling for them," he added.
Huckabee also claimed that Israel would like to see a resolution of tensions with Türkiye, saying, "Could it be that there could be some resolution of this tension? I think Israel would love to see that. So, it's possible Türkiye could decide that normalization with Israel and tempering down the very inflammatory rhetoric is in their best interest. I hope they do. I think we all hope they do."
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