US backs Saudi, UAE, Jordan arms sales

The US State Department has approved Washington’s latest raft of proposed weapons sales to the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) preliminarily approved for deals – if they are not blocked by US Congress.

The sales come at a time of heightened tensions with Iran, and as the UAE has seen a rare string of attacks claimed by the Houthis, a rebel group that a Saudi-led military coalition, of which the UAE is a member, continues to fight in Yemen. Saudi Arabia has been regularly targeted by Houthi missile and drone attacks in recent years. The United States has said it will continue to support the defence capabilities of its allies in the region – notably Saudi Arabia and the UAE – and has emphasised arms sales as one avenue for that support.

However, President Joe Biden announced in February last year that the US was ending support for offensive operations by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and all “relevant” arms sales. Advocates and legislators have since decried the approval of a $650m sale of air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia in November as undermining that pledge. (Agencies)