By Skylar Woodhouse, Bloomberg News (TNS)

WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump said the U.S. would sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, offering Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a prize he’s long cherished — even though many obstacles remain before he gets the stealthy planes.

Agreeing to sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia represents a major concession to bin Salman, who’s set to visit the White House on Tuesday, as Washington and Riyadh look to deepen ties. One motivation for Trump is to lure Saudi Arabia into establishing diplomatic ties with Israel.

“I will say that we will be doing that — we’ll be selling F-35s,” Trump said when asked about the sales Monday at the White House. He called Saudi Arabia a “great ally.”

But Trump’s say-so is only a small step on a much longer process that wi

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