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Turkey Supports Russia and Hamas; The US Should Not Give It F-35 Fighter Jets
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi review a guard of honor during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, Sept. 4, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Murad Sezer
Recent discussions between Turkey and the United States indicate that the Biden administration is actively pursuing Ankara’s reinstatement in the F-35 program.
It is difficult to justify why Washington would want to arm Turkey with these highly advanced fighter jets, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan takes fervent measures to undermine the core security interests of the United States, NATO, and our transatlantic allies.
Turkey’s eligibility to acquire F-35s was abruptly ended in 2019, in response to Ankara’s insistence on acquiring the Russian-made S-400 air defense system.
Erdogan repeatedly ignored Washington’s warnings that the integration of the Russian system could compromise NATO systems and enable Russia to undermine and steal the F-35s stealth capabilities. Upon delivery of the S-400s, the Trump administration removed Turkey from the F-35 program, and imposed strict sanctions under the provisions of the Countering of America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
Turkey now wants to backtrack from this fateful decision, and has initiated a dialogue with Washington to find a way back into the F-35 program, and Washington is listening.
This is a serious mistake by Washington, and on several fronts.
First, Turkey’s proposed solution to address the S-400 is an insufficient remedy to qualify for receiving a strategic platform that ensures NATO’s competitive edge against adversaries. In late August, Turkish officials reportedly pitched their American counterparts with a plan to permanently warehouse Turkey’s S-400s, but have shown no willingness to completely shut down or transfer the system to American supervision.
More alarmingly, Turkey is not a true believer in the values that define NATO; in fact, President Erdogan presents a clear threat to the objectives and security of the alliance and its members.
In early September 2024, President Erdogan announced his decision to apply to join the non-aligned movement BRICS+. At NATO’s Washington summit in July, he reiterated his desire for Turkey to become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Both of these organizations are not only the antitheses of Western economic and security institutions of which Turkey is a member, but also are dedicated to undermining the rules-based order of the free world.
Most recently, Erdogan gave an interview on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, in which he boasted about Ankara’s expanding relations with Russia and implied that Ankara stands against Ukraine’s membership bid in NATO.
It is not a far leap to assume that Turkey plans on playing a spoiler role in any attempt by Ukraine to join NATO, just as it did with Finland and Sweden between 2022 and 2023.
Ankara’s hardened anti-Israeli stance makes Washington’s embrace of Turkey even more perplexing. On July 12, at the NATO summit in Washington, Turkey threatened to take steps to exclude Israel from all cooperation with NATO. President Erdogan said that “until comprehensive, sustainable peace is established in Palestine, attempts at cooperation with Israel within NATO will not be approved by Turkey.”
Threats to Israel emanating from Ankara are not merely rhetorical.
Erdogan’s Islamist worldview, deeply antisemitic and anti-Israeli, inform his country’s actions. Turkey is the only country in NATO to champion the cause of Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization under the laws of the US, EU, and Canada.
Since October 7, 2023, Erdogan has ramped up his provision of diplomatic, logistical, and perhaps even military support to Hamas.
On July 21, 2024, Israel’s internal security service, the Shin Bet, foiled a Hamas terrorist attack orchestrated from Turkey. The Shin Bet captured five terrorists who attested to the military training, weaponry, and cash they acquired in Turkey. Israeli security has repeatedly intercepted weaponry and explosive precursors originating from Turkey that smugglers were attempting to get into Gaza.
At a party conference in Rize, Turkey, on July 28, 2024, Erdogan went as far as to threaten to invade Israel right after a Hezbollah rocket supplied by Iran killed 12 children in the Israeli Druze town of Majdal Shams. Erdogan’s inflammatory rhetoric, coupled with his material support for terrorists, suggests that Ankara may pursue an extremely dangerous escalatory posture in the developing conflict between Israel, Hezbollah, and Iran.
Given this track record, it is beyond nonsensical why the Biden administration is entering into a dialogue with Ankara, to explore ways to arm Turkey with the Western alliance’s premier strategic weapons capability. It is irresponsible and dangerous. Washington already authorized the sale of new F-16 fighter jets to Ankara in January 2024, to ensure that the Turkish Air Force could maintain readiness as a NATO ally. It is way too soon to begin discussions about ways Ankara can be equipped with F-35s — even if it removes the S-400s from its military inventory. Such a conversation can only begin once a relationship of trust is established with Turkey.
Turkey cannot join a security alliance with the likes of Russia, Iran, and China while being invited back into the F-35 program. Turkey must also make efforts to disentangle itself from Russia’s wartime economy. The US Treasury Department has already sanctioned dozens of Turkish companies and individuals supporting Putin, and this must come to an end.
Turkey must once again chart a serious path to join the European Union. Turkey must join its allies in taking the highest and most punitive measures to undermine Russia’s illegal war efforts against Ukraine, beginning with joining the sanctions regime against Moscow. It must demonstrate a verifiable track record of not antagonizing other NATO members, such as Greece, and EU countries like Cyprus.
It must apologize for its many years of supporting jihadist terrorist networks in the region, beginning with Hamas, but also the Muslim Brotherhood and jihadist militias such as ISIS inside Syria and Iraq. Such entities, which have offices and personnel inside Turkey, must be disestablished, and its operatives extradited to face justice for their crimes. Ankara must disclose and divest itself of all the ways in which it supports such entities.
Finally, any and all discussions about Turkey acquiring US defense programs must begin with Ankara coming into compliance with both the letter and spirit of the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The most advanced American technology is meant to protect American national security and should be shared only with Washington’s most committed allies and partners. Turkey does not meet that standard.
Sinan Ciddi is a nonresident senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on X: @SinanCiddi. Sophia Epley is an intern at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a student at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
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