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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Tuesday authorized two large arms gross sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to assist them defend in opposition to Iran.
The greater than $5 billion in missile protection and associated gross sales observe President Joe Biden’s go to to the Center East final month, throughout which he met with quite a few regional leaders in Saudi Arabia. Each Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been hit in current months with rocket assaults from the Iran-backed Houthi insurgent motion in Yemen.
Though Tuesday’s approvals are for defensive weapons, they could be questioned by lawmakers who had supported Biden’s choice final yr to chop Saudi Arabia and the UAE off from main purchases of offensive U.S. arms due to their involvement within the warfare in Yemen.
The brand new gross sales embrace $3 billion for Patriot missiles for Saudi Arabia particularly designed to guard itself from rocket assaults by the Houthis, and $2.2 billion for high-altitude missile protection for the UAE.
“The proposed sale will enhance the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s functionality to satisfy present and future threats by replenishing its dwindling inventory of PATRIOT GEM-T missiles,” the State Division mentioned in its discover informing Congress of the sale.
“These missiles are used to defend the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s borders in opposition to persistent Houthi cross-border unmanned aerial system and ballistic missile assaults on civilian websites and demanding infrastructure in Saudi Arabia,” the division mentioned.
For UAE, the division mentioned the sale would “help the international coverage and nationwide safety of america by serving to to enhance the safety of an necessary regional accomplice. The UAE is a crucial U.S. accomplice for political stability and financial progress within the Center East.”
Early in his administration Biden had pledged to chop off or reduce weapons gross sales to each Saudi Arabia and the UAE due to their actions in Yemen.
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