Iran Press/ Middle East: Citing a need to maintain Israeli military superiority in the West Asia region, Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen made the comments in response to a Reuters report that Qatar had submitted a formal request to Washington to buy the Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 stealth jets.
The United States consults with Israel on proposed sales of advanced arms to other countries in the region, under a principle of preserving Israel's "qualitative military edge". Some such sales have gone ahead over Israeli objections.
Asked whether Israel would oppose an F-35 sale to Qatar, Cohen told the Israeli Army Radio: "The answer is yes. Our security and military superiority in the region are the most significant things for us. Our region has still not turned into Switzerland."
Qatar's F-35 request follows an August deal in which Washington agreed to consider giving the United Arab Emirates approval to buy the jets in a side deal to a US-brokered agreement normalizing ties between Israel and UAE.
Israel, which has bought and deployed the F-35, has voiced discomfort at the prospect of UAE also getting the warplane.
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