President Donald Trump said in Ankara on Tuesday he is leaning toward allowing Turkish President Recep Erdoğan's country back into the F-35 program and selling the jets to the Turkish air force.
Turkey was expelled from the F-35 program in 2019 after it purchased Russia's S-400 air defense system, and U.S. law bars it from rejoining while it possesses those systems.
"Many people, including the people who are sitting here, think 'why wouldn't we do that'... Turkey has been in many ways much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal," Trump said when asked if he is going to sell the jets to Turkey.
Vice President JD Vance said the Pentagon is conducting a review and told reporters in the Oval Office, "There are certain things that we have to certify have happened ... in order to comply with American law. The president has asked us to do that."
Trump told reporters he will lift sanctions on Turkey, saying, "I can tell you we're going to take the sanctions off. We're going to be taking the sanctions off. It's time to do that, OK?" and said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Hegseth were working on it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu complained to Trump about Erdoğan's escalating anti-Israel rhetoric and asked him to refrain from selling weapons systems that would help Turkey modernize its air force, especially the F-35 jets.
Separately, 18 lawmakers led by Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) sent a letter to House majority leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and House minority leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) calling on them to block any potential sale while Turkey still holds Russian-made S-400 systems, saying the sale would violate U.S. law and sanctions.
Trump also criticized other NATO allies over Iran, saying, "Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down and France turned us down," and he suggested Turkey could have joined the war with Iran, saying Iran fired several missiles that hit Turkish territory during the war.
If approved, Turkey would be the first country in the region to be part of the F-35 development and production program and the second country in the region to have F-35s after Israel.
Trump had previously said he would sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia without it being part of the program, but so far no deal has been approved and no jets have been delivered.