US Will Supply UAE with Arms without “Hurting Israeli Advantage”: Pompeo
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington will find a way to balance helping its military ally the United Arab Emirates without weakening Israeli qualitative military edge (QME).
The remarks took place at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Al-Quds (Jerusalem) on Monday.
They came amid controversy in the Zionist entity over whether Washington will sell F-35 stealth jets to the UAE, now Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi have diplomatic relations.
“The US has legal requirements with respect to the QME, and we will respect that,” Pompeo said. “We have a 20-plus-year security relationship with the UAE as well.”
Without mentioning F-35s or any other systems by name, Pompeo said the US wants to “make sure we are delivering the equipment [the UAE] needs to defend themselves from the… threat of the Islamic Republic” of Iran.
But he said he is “sure we’ll find a way” to do so while ensuring Israel’s military superiority in the Middle East.
Netanyahu said the normalization deal with the UAE “did not include Israel’s acceptance to any arms deal. I don’t know of any arms deal that has been agreed upon but our position hasn’t changed.”
Source: Israeli media
