UAE Scraps Meeting With Israel, US Over F-35 Sale

UAE cites 'disappointment' after peace deal

A meeting planned for last week between the US, Israel, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) was canceled at the last minute, as the UAE sought to express “disappointment” at Israel’s behavior following their recent peace deal.

Earlier this month, the UAE and Israel reached a peace deal, and normalization of ties. Early reports were that this would allow the UAE new weapons purchases from the US, and most specifically the costly F-35 jets.

When that started being discussed, Israel objected to the sales. The US is considering it anyhow, but the UAE really resents the fact that this is an issue at all, after normalization and all. They’re not feeling like “celebrating” the deal, which is what the visit was to be.

The US, for its part, is promising to considering all future trades with respect to Israel’s military advantage, and that’s likely to get Israel something in the future. The UAE, however, has yet to get anything.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.