President Donald Trump-led US administration approved arms transfers to Middle East countries, bypassing congressional review citing an emergency.
The military sales, totalling over $8.6 billion, range from air defense missiles to laser guidance systems.
The US State Department made the announcement for the same on Friday, even as the US and Israel’s war on Iran marked nine weeks, with no agreement yet on the ending of the conflict even as a fragile truce holds.
List of countries and weapons approved
• Israel – The department authorised the sale of 10,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System-II All Up Rounds and related equipment, amounting to $992.4 million and manufactured by BAE Systems, to Israel.
• Qatar – US approved the sale of 10,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System-II all-up-rounds advanced (single variant) systems to Qatar, at a value of $992.4 million. The principal contractor for the potential sale will be BAE Systems.
Qatar also bought 200 Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical (GEM-T) interceptors and 300 PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors and related equipment, valued at $4.01 billion. Lockheed and RTX are the principal contractors for these arms systems.
• UAE – 1,500 guidance sections, single variant (air-to-air), Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System-II were authorised for sale to UAE, at the total cost of $147.6 million.
Also Read | US 8-week long war in Iran has cost $25 billion so far, says Pentagon official
• Kuwait – Another $2.5 billion purchase by Kuwait of Integrated Battle Command Systems and related equipment was also sanctioned. Northrop Grumman Corp., RTX Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp will be the principal contractors for the potential sale, Reuters news agency reported.
‘Emergency exists that requires immediate sale’: Rubio
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has justified all these arms packages’ approval, saying an “emergency exists that requires the immediate sale” of these weapons, Reuters reported.
Potentials arms sales are subject to a congressional review period usually, and the quanities of the weapons and price are finalised following a negotiations between the vendor and consumer. However, statements from the State Department said this expedited transfer is “in the national security interests of the United States.”
Also Read | ‘Maximum pressure campaign’: US signals no letup in naval blockade to squeeze Iran
The US and Israel began military strikes in Iran on February 28, which was followed by retaliatory strikes by Tehran on its Middle East neighbours, including UAE, Qatar and Kuwait. While on the one hand Washington is continuing support for its Middle East allies, its rift with NATO continues to widen, after the Trump administration announced the decision to slash US troops in the country after the American President’s spat with the German leader Friedrich Merz.
German defence minister Boris Pistorius said the move was expected, after Trump issued threats following Merz’s questioning of US strategy in the Middle East. “We Europeans must take on more responsibility for our own security,” Pistorius said after Washington’s decision.
