{"id":55039,"date":"2016-04-20T19:43:25","date_gmt":"2016-04-20T19:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:03:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:03:41","slug":"israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Confident F-35 Won&#8217;t Be Sold To Gulf Near-Term"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">JERUSALEM and WASHINGTON \u2014 As Qatar and Kuwait anxiously await clearance from the White House to purchase new tranches of advanced fourth-generation fighters, Israeli concerns about maintaining its military edge rest on a simple belief: that Israel will retain regional exclusivity over the fifth-generation F-35 for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations would not be allowed to purchase the F-35 until long after Israel has incorporated the fighter into its arsenal has been a widely held, if rarely articulated, belief for some time in the defense community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But officials in both nations seemed to acknowledge the reality in the lead up to a visit by US President Barack Obama to the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked if he thought the F-35 should be sold to Gulf nations sometime in the next decade, Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, the number two civilian at the Pentagon, indicated such a move was unlikely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Right now, we do not have any expectation for selling the F-35 in the near term, beyond the countries that have already bought into the program,&#8221; he said March 15 in response to a query from Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As broad as that comment is, it also represents the most forward-looking statement to date regarding Washington&#8217;s commitment to maintain a generational gap in fighter capabilities between Israel and the GCC states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Top US officials have previously stressed the present state of affairs, whereby Israel &#8220;is the only nation in the Middle East to which the US has sold this fifth-generation aircraft,&#8221; as Obama noted in an August 2015 letter to Rep. Jerold Nadler, a New York Democrat and stalwart Israel supporter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Work&#8217;s comments were welcomed in Israel on Wednesday amid speculation that Obama \u2014 in Saudi Arabia for a summit meeting with GCC leaders \u2014 would announce approval of sales of F-15 Silent Eagles to Qatar and F\/A-18s to Kuwait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sales had been delayed for two years, in part, sources say, due to Israeli concerns of their impact on Washington&#8217;s legally bound commitment to preserve Israel&#8217;s so-called Qualitative Military Edge (QME).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We&#8217;ve known that US policy is not to provide F-35 to other countries in the region for many years into the future, but it&#8217;s nice to hear this expressed publicly and explicitly,&#8221; Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) deputy chief of staff told Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a private exchange prior to a Jerusalem press conference, Golan said he doubted whether GCC states would even be interested in the coming decade in requesting the fifth-generation fighter given the complexity of the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;This is a very complex system that requires a whole new concept, entirely new maintenance and, of course, the net to connect it all. Our working assumption and our hope is that we will have at least a decade jump on our neighbors with respect to this aircraft.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When asked if pending fourth-generation fighter sales to the Gulf would erode Israel&#8217;s QME, Golan said there is always concern of shifting alliances or upsets in the regional power structure, but that the IDF is reassured by a full and expanding spectrum of US-Israel strategic cooperation, including exclusivity on the F-35.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We work hard and very closely with our American counterparts in order to let America have good business in the Gulf region and enhance its interests in this region,&#8221; Golan said. He noted that Israel and the US &#8220;basically share the same interests&#8221; when it comes to Gulf States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But at the same time, he said that the two countries maintain regular and intimate contacts to ensure that US actions in the region do not jeopardize Israel&#8217;s long-term security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The discussions with our American counterparts are very productive. There&#8217;s an in-depth understanding of our challenges and up until now, we&#8217;ve found the right balance in order to make it a calculated risk from Israel&#8217;s perspective,&#8221; Golan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">US Sen. Joe Donnelly, ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee, said US arms sales to the region and its impact on Israel&#8217;s QME was an agenda item when he and other lawmakers met last month with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;What came out is \u2013 and I can&#8217;t speak for him \u2013 is that Prime Minister Netanyahu always wants to maintain the QME, the military edge,&#8221; Donnelly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Donnelly noted the bonds appear to be getting stronger between GCC countries and Israel. &#8220;I think the enemy of my enemy has really brought a common bond to make sure Iran does not advance on any front,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Donnelly said his recent swing through the Mideast also touched on regional interest in the F-35.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Everybody wants the newest plane, so it did come up\u2026 in a number of places where they were talking about the capabilities of the plane,&#8221; Donnelly acknowledged. &#8220;It came up, but just on the periphery of the discussions.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an interview last week, Rep. Steve Israel, D-NY, of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, said he, too, recently met with Netanyahu in Israel to discuss Israel&#8217;s QME and US involvement in the region writ large. Preserving Israel&#8217;s QME is &#8220;a very big concern,&#8221; the lawmaker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;In a new threat environment where Iran can accelerate its ballistic missile capabilities, we have a responsibility to provide defensive technologies to our allies. But today&#8217;s ally may be tomorrow&#8217;s enemy, because they were yesterday&#8217;s adversary. So I think that&#8217;s going to require some more calibration and long-term thinking,&#8221; Israel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Email:\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:bopallrome@defensenews.com\">bopallrome@defensenews.com<\/a> | <a href=\"mailto:jgould@defensenews.com\">jgould@defensenews.com<\/a> | <a href=\"mailto:amehta@defensenews.com\">amehta@defensenews.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twitter: <a href=\"http:\/\/Twitter.com\/OpallRome\">@OpallRome<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/Twitter.com\/ReporterJOe\">@ReporterJoe<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/Twitter.com\/AaronMehta\">@AaronMehta<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Israel remains confident it will be the sole regional user of the F-35, even as the US arms its Gulf allies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":114623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[33,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2818],"class_list":["post-55039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"RWY5UJR26FATHDCFDHWSPL46BY","arc_canonical_url":"\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Israel Confident F-35 Won&#039;t Be Sold To Gulf Near-Term - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Israel remains confident it will be the sole regional user of the F-35, even as the US arms its Gulf allies.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Israel Confident F-35 Won&#039;t Be Sold To Gulf Near-Term\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Israel remains confident it will be the sole regional user of the F-35, even as the US arms its Gulf allies.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-04-20T19:43:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T00:03:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Barbara Opall-Rome\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Barbara Opall-Rome\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/20\\\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/20\\\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Israel Confident F-35 Won&#8217;t Be Sold To Gulf Near-Term\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2016-04-20T19:43:25+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:03:41+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/20\\\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 943,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/20\\\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635967610274520835-gettyimages-519237386jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Pentagon\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/20\\\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/20\\\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/20\\\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Israel Confident F-35 Won't Be Sold To Gulf Near-Term - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/20\\\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/20\\\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635967610274520835-gettyimages-519237386jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2016-04-20T19:43:25+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:03:41+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Israel remains confident it will be the sole regional user of the F-35, even as the US arms its Gulf allies.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/20\\\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/20\\\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/20\\\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635967610274520835-gettyimages-519237386jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635967610274520835-gettyimages-519237386jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/20\\\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/home\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Israel Confident F-35 Won&#8217;t Be Sold To Gulf Near-Term\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Israel Confident F-35 Won't Be Sold To Gulf Near-Term - Defense News","description":"Israel remains confident it will be the sole regional user of the F-35, even as the US arms its Gulf allies.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Israel Confident F-35 Won't Be Sold To Gulf Near-Term","og_description":"Israel remains confident it will be the sole regional user of the F-35, even as the US arms its Gulf allies.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2016-04-20T19:43:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T00:03:41+00:00","author":"Barbara Opall-Rome","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Barbara Opall-Rome","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Israel Confident F-35 Won&#8217;t Be Sold To Gulf Near-Term","datePublished":"2016-04-20T19:43:25+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:03:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/"},"wordCount":943,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635967610274520835-gettyimages-519237386jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Home","Pentagon"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/","name":"Israel Confident F-35 Won't Be Sold To Gulf Near-Term - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635967610274520835-gettyimages-519237386jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2016-04-20T19:43:25+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:03:41+00:00","description":"Israel remains confident it will be the sole regional user of the F-35, even as the US arms its Gulf allies.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635967610274520835-gettyimages-519237386jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635967610274520835-gettyimages-519237386jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/20\/israel-confident-f-35-won-t-be-sold-to-gulf-near-term\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/home\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Israel Confident F-35 Won&#8217;t Be Sold To Gulf Near-Term"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635967610274520835-gettyimages-519237386jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55039"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55044,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55039\/revisions\/55044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55039"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=55039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}