Argentina's president Milei secures $300M deal with Denmark for 24 F-16 jets

Argentina's President Javier Milei on Tuesday announced the $300 million deal with Denmark to purchase 24 F-16 jets for the former's air force.

The official X (formerly known as Twitter) handle of the president and Defense Minister Luis Petri announced the purchase alongside the aircraft's video.

In a separate post, Petri shared a series of photos where he can be seen signing the deal in Denmark.

"We signed the purchase of the F-16 thanks to the leadership of @JMilei [Milei] and the support of our allies who share our values ​​of democracy and freedom, we are strengthening the defense and security of all Argentines," he wrote in Spanish (translated by Google).

In another social media post, Petri said, "With these new aircraft we are taking a transcendental step in our defense policy. From today, Argentines, we once again have forces from heaven to protect us."

Government spokesman Manuel Adorni said during a press conference that the contract was for around $300 million, noting that it was below the market cost, as per Reuters. The deal included four flight simulators, eight engines and spare parts for the aircraft for five years.

Milei was supposed to visit Denmark to sign the contract, but he decided not to as he wanted to concentrate on the problems happening in the Middle East, as per the government's statement over the weekend.

Talking about the Middle East conflict, Israel attacked Iran's embassy in Syria on April 1 and in response, Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones on Israel. However, almost all the Iranian drones and missiles were intercepted before they reached Israeli territory.

Following the attack, Milei expressed "solidarity and unwavering commitment" to Israel.

"The Argentine Republic recognizes the right of nation-states to defend themselves, and emphatically supports the State of Israel in the defence of its sovereignty, especially against regimes that promote terror and seek the destruction of Western civilization," Milei's office said, as per Middle East Monitor.

This statement came after the Second Chamber of the Argentine Criminal Court of Cassation called Iran a "terrorist state" and held it responsible for attacking the Israeli embassy and a Jewish center in the capital, Buenos Aires in 1992 and 1994, respectively. However, Iran refused to take responsibility for those attacks.