James Mattis
Croatia canceled a $500 million sale of a dozen F-16 fighter planes due to the United States denying an Israeli request to execute the deal.
James Mattis, U.S. Secretary of Defense at the time, rejected a request from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to soften U.S. conditions, including returning the planes to their initial state prior to Israeli upgrades.
In order to approve the deal, the United States required that Israel uninstall Israeli systems included in the F-16s, which would return the planes to their initial state prior to Israeli upgrades.
While Defense Secretary James Mattis was at odds with some of Trump’s positions on the Middle East, such as exiting the Iran nuclear deal and moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, he nonetheless continued strong defense ties with Israel during his tenure.
“Iran has been put on notice at the continued mischief they’ve caused around the area. The murder they have caused from Syria and what they’re doing with [Syrian President Bashar] Assad,” U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis said on Tuesday.