The United States will stop paying Israel $4 billion a year at the end of 2026 under an agreement with its ally, U.S. President Donald Trump said.
Trump said Israel had become successful enough to forgo the payments, while leaving open further American assistance if needed. He did not explain what form that assistance would take.
In a Fox Business telephone interview published Nov. 3, Trump said he and Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed months earlier to end the payments. He presented the cutoff as a decision both sides accepted.
“They don't need it,” Trump said. “We'll help Israel if they need it.” He called Israel “a great ally” and described the two countries as military partners in the Middle East.
The announcement came during an answer to a question about antisemitism and opposition to supplying Israel with weapons. Trump did not specify whether the payment cutoff would change American arms sales to Israel.
He instead linked antisemitism to immigration from the Middle East and blamed former President Barack Obama's immigration policies. He gave no details of a separate measure to combat antisemitism in that answer.
Trump then turned to American military operations, saying the United States controlled the Strait of Hormuz through a naval blockade. He described American military equipment and personnel as superior to those of its opponents.
Asked what would follow election day, he left open further military action against Iran while saying he wanted to avoid killing large numbers of people. “If we have to, we have to,” he said.
He said American forces had destroyed Iran's nuclear capability and kept the site under surveillance. He also said they had struck an Iranian anti-aircraft facility the previous night, describing that attack as limited.
Trump gave no timetable for further action or conditions for ending the blockade. He described the situation as short of war and said Washington could choose between further attacks and sparing lives.
Turning to trade, Trump said the United States was close to an agreement with Canada without tariffs and that Canada would supply fertilizer. He gave no signing date or details of the proposed terms.
The interview returned to Israel aid near its end when Trump was asked to clarify whether the payments would stop. He repeated the annual amount and the year-end deadline. The supplied transcript cuts off during his explanation of why Israel no longer needed the money, leaving the scope and implementation of the agreement unspecified.
