Jerusalem [Israel], July 8 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday (local time) voiced strong opposition to the possible sale of US-made F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey, warning that such a move would alter the regional balance of power, CNN reported.
Speaking in an interview with CNN, Netanyahu said he had personally urged US President Donald Trump not to approve the sale, after Trump indicated he was considering reversing restrictions imposed during his first term.
"The sale of America's most advanced fighter aircraft 'doesn't make Turkey a friendly state to the United States,'" Netanyahu told CNN. Referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he said Ankara is "a regime that's infected with the Muslim Brotherhood, which hates the United States."
"He's not exactly a model ally of the United States," Netanyahu said. "He threatens to destroy my country, the one and only Jewish state," he added, as reported by CNN.
Netanyahu further warned that supplying the aircraft to Turkey would have wider regional consequences.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said last week that Israel has "become a burden that humanity can no longer bear", prompting Israel's foreign minister to condemn the remarks as "textbook incitement to genocide", CNN reported.
"This is not a force for peace and stability. When you give them that power, you're going to see aggression in its wake," he said.
Netanyahu added that he urged Trump directly not to sell the fighter jets to Turkey, as doing so would "destroy the power balance in the Middle East."
According to CNN, Trump, who is attending the NATO summit in Turkey, has indicated he is open to selling the F-35s to Ankara despite an existing congressional ban. He described Turkey as an "extraordinary" US ally and said the administration was considering the sale.
"We have a better relationship with Turkey, and Turkey has been in many ways much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal," Trump said, according to CNN.
"It's a great plane, it's the best, currently the best plane by far, and certainly something we will consider," he added.
Trump also said the US would soon lift sanctions imposed on Turkey over its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence system.
"We're going to be taking the sanctions off," Trump said. "We don't want to sanction friends."
Despite the disagreement over Turkey, Netanyahu downplayed any differences with Trump, saying the two see "eye-to-eye" on major issues, even after the US President said over the weekend that the Israeli leader "knows who the boss is", CNN reported.
"He's the President of the United States. He does what is good for the United States," Netanyahu said. "I'm the Prime Minister of Israel, I do what is important for Israel, and most of the time these things are identical."
Netanyahu, who had strongly opposed the Iran nuclear deal under former US President Barack Obama, has so far refrained from criticising the current US-Iran ceasefire agreement.
The agreement ended a conflict that Netanyahu had wanted to continue and eased long-standing sanctions on Iran's oil exports in exchange for reopening the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. It also leaves open the possibility of hundreds of billions of dollars in additional sanctions relief if Washington and Tehran reach a permanent agreement, CNN reported.
CNN reported that the agreement does not address several key concerns raised by the US and Israel at the start of the conflict in late February, including Iran's nuclear programme, ballistic missile development, support for proxy groups, and stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Asked about the agreement, Netanyahu declined to make a definitive assessment.
"It's too early to say what will happen," he said. "The president believes that he can stop Iran's nuclear program, and he believes he can do it through negotiations. I have my doubts, but I think he should be given the chance, and he's trying to achieve that," he added, as reported by CNN.