Scoop: Netanyahu asks Trump to rein in Erdoğan ahead of NATO summit

According to Axios, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called President Trump on Friday to complain about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose anti-Israel rhetoric has sharpened in recent weeks. Netanyahu reportedly asked Trump to rein in the Turkish leader and to hold off on weapons deals that would upgrade Turkey's air force. The timing is pointed: Trump travels Monday to Ankara to meet Erdoğan at a NATO summit, where the agenda includes a seven hundred million dollar deal for new fighter-jet engines and the possibility of Turkey rejoining the F-35 program it was expelled from in twenty nineteen after buying Russia's S-400 missile system. Axios notes Trump has kept warm ties with both leaders, leaving Netanyahu's influence uncertain — especially as his standing in Washington has slipped over the Iran war. One U.S. official summed up the likely response as the president telling Erdoğan to, quote, go a little easy, adding, but it is what it is.

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