Trump heads to Ankara with an F-35 overture as Turkey and Israel trade accusations

US President Donald Trump is traveling to Ankara with what Israeli media described as a plan to return Turkey to the F-35 fighter jet program, a step Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has long sought. Ynet reported that the US State Department had advanced the sale of jet engines, and that the two leaders would meet around a NATO summit, even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu works to limit Ankara's growing regional role.

The improvement in relations is taking place alongside sharp rhetoric. Turkey's foreign minister said Israel had "become a problem for the whole international community" and, in comments carried by BBC News Hindi, accused Israel of "looking for a new enemy," adding that Turkey had "no problem with confrontation" and would not be intimidated.

The two US allies are increasingly competing for influence across a region reshaped by the war on Iran and the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon. Washington's willingness to rearm Turkey, despite Israeli objections, points to a recalibration of American priorities as it seeks to keep a large NATO military aligned with its aims.

Turkey was removed from the F-35 program in 2019 after it purchased a Russian air-defense system, and its potential return would mark a significant shift in the alliance's posture toward Ankara.