(Ariel Kahana/Israel Hayom via JNS) A day after Reuters reported on an emerging deal between the United States and the UAE over the sale of the advanced F-35 fighter jets, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman reassured Israelis that the country’s Qualitative Military Edge (QME) was not at risk.

In a pre-recorded interview Friedman said that the F-35, which gives Israel air supremacy in the region, would not be phased into service in the Gulf country anytime soon.

According to unconfirmed reports in the U.S. and Israeli media, the peace agreement signed last week between the UAE and Israel was made possible after the Trump administration said it would sell F-35 aircraft to the country, potentially offsetting Israel’s decades-old military edge over all Arab air forces.

Friedman noted, “QME is a matter of law, not a matter of policy. It has been U.S. law since 2008, and U.S. policy a lot longer than that.”