Former US President Donald Trump has confirmed that the United States is prepared to sell advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia—an unprecedented move that has triggered alarm across Israel and India over its strategic fallout.

Speaking in the Oval Office on November 17, a day before hosting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump said, “We’ll be doing that, we’ll be selling F-35s,” effectively signalling a major break from long-standing US policy that restricted such technology in the region.

Saudi Arabia has sought up to 48 F-35 jets, which would make it the first Arab country to operate the fifth-generation platform. Until now, Israel has been the sole Middle Eastern operator of the US stealth fighter.

The announcement has drawn sharp pushback in Israel. A formal ID

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