US Senator grills State Department official on potential F-35 sale to UAE

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Robert Menendez said the possible sale of the advanced fighter jet to the United Arab Emirates could undermine Israel's military superiority in the region.
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An Israeli F-35 fighter jet is seen in a hangar during the Blue Flag multinational aerial exercise at the Ovda air force base, north of the Israeli city of Eilat, on Nov. 11, 2019. - EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images
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Adam Lucente
@Adam_Lucente

Top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Robert Menendez said today that the proposed US sale of F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) undermines Israel’s military superiority in the Middle East. His comments came just two days after Israel’s top defense official visited Washington to discuss the matter.

Menendez, of New Jersey, questioned US Secretary of Political Affairs David Hale extensively on the reported sale at a Senate hearing on Wednesday.

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