US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States would stop providing Israel with about $4 billion a year in military aid from 2027, while continuing to sell arms to the country. He announced the decision as polls opened for the US midterm elections.
In a phone interview with Fox News, Trump said Israel no longer needed the money and said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had raised the idea. According to Trump, the two had been discussing it for a couple of years.
Trump also linked the decision to political criticism of the aid, naming Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat running for the Senate in Michigan who has spoken out against Israel. US rules allow politicians, including the president, to give interviews on polling day, although state laws restrict campaigning near polling stations.
Netanyahu’s office did not immediately comment. Gadi Eisenkot, his main rival, said it was dangerous for Israel’s defence establishment to learn of the change through the media and called for Netanyahu to be replaced.
The existing 10-year agreement, signed in 2016 under President Barack Obama, provides $38 billion in assistance and runs through 2028.
The announcement came amid renewed tensions in the Gulf. A US official said American forces had carried out defensive strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz that were using surface-to-air missiles. Iranian state television reported explosions on Qeshm Island.
Iranian parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Tehran had given Washington a “firm and rational response” and that it was up to the US to prevent a return to war. He said Iran remained ready “with its finger on the trigger” but did not specify what its response involved.
Sources: Euronews English.