US President Donald Trump was angered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public criticism of a proposed US sale of F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye, according to an Axios report published on Thursday, in the latest sign of strains between the two allies.
Citing two White House officials, Axios reported that Trump was "pissed off" after Netanyahu criticised the potential sale during a Fox News interview shortly before the US president travelled to Ankara for the NATO summit on July 7-8.
According to one official, Trump believed Netanyahu had "no right" to publicly intervene in the proposed arms deal, while another said the remarks further aggravated already growing tensions between the two leaders.
The report follows Trump's recent signals that Washington is prepared to restore defence ties with Türkiye, including lifting sanctions imposed over Ankara's purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence system and reopening discussions on F-35 fighter jets.
No Trump-Netanyahu meeting scheduled
Axios also reported that no meeting between Trump and Netanyahu had been scheduled, despite Israeli media reports suggesting the Israeli premier would travel to Washington this week.
According to the report, Netanyahu had sought a meeting with Trump for more than two weeks, but White House officials said none had been confirmed.
"Our impression was that Bibi was trying to will a meeting into existence," one White House official told Axios.
Netanyahu's office later announced that his planned trip had been cancelled after the funeral of late US Sen. Lindsey Graham was postponed.
Rift widens over Iran, Türkiye
The reported disagreement comes as differences widen between Washington and Netanyahu's government over both Iran policy and US efforts to normalise defence ties with Türkiye.
Israeli officials have publicly opposed any F-35 sale to Ankara, arguing it could alter the regional military balance, while Trump has signalled support for rebuilding strategic defence cooperation with the NATO ally.
The report also follows comments by US Vice President JD Vance, who suggested Wednesday that members of the Israeli government were attempting to undermine Washington's diplomatic efforts with Tehran in favour of extending the military offensive.
