The Trump administration has formally informed Congress that it intends to move forward with a roughly $700 million sale of jet engines to Turkey, according to Reuters, which cited two sources familiar with the matter.
The proposed arms deal has already drawn criticism from certain members of Congress, largely due to Turkey’s ongoing possession of Russian defense systems it acquired back in 2019.
Should the sale receive final approval, it would serve as a meaningful show of goodwill toward Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whom President Trump regards as one of his key international allies. The timing is notable, coming just ahead of next month’s NATO summit.
In its official notification to Congress, dated June 24 and delivered late Wednesday, the State Department stated, “The US government is prepared to license the export of these items having taken into account political, military, economic, human rights, and arms control considerations.”
Under the law, Congress has a 15-day window to introduce a joint resolution of disapproval if it wishes to halt the transaction. However, any such measure would need to clear both chambers and could ultimately be vetoed by President Trump.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance indicated that the administration is also examining whether Turkey satisfies US legal requirements before pursuing further defense agreements — including the possibility of bringing Turkey back into the F-35 fighter jet program, from which it was previously removed.
Speaking from the Oval Office, President Trump suggested that Erdoğan had been on the verge of entering the conflict involving Iran. “He was a prime candidate to go into the war with Iran — maybe on the Iran side, because he’s not a big fan of Israel,” Trump claimed, despite Turkey showing no signs of preparing to join the US-Israel military campaign against Iran. Turkey itself came under Iranian fire at one point during the conflict.
“I asked him to stay out. He stayed out,” Trump told reporters.
Trump went on to praise the Turkish leader, saying, “Erdogan is a great leader, a very strong person … Everything I’ve ever asked from him, he’s done. I’m going to probably do something that’s going to make him very happy.”
The relationship between Turkey and Israel has been strained since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. In July 2024, Erdoğan floated the idea of potential military action against Israel to stop the fighting in Gaza. Earlier this month, Turkey’s interior minister publicly called for the “liberation” of Jerusalem.
