The US administration under President Joe Biden will lift a years-long suspension of offensive weapons deliveries to Saudi Arabia, approve an initial shipment of air-to-ground munitions and review further deliveries “on a case-by-case basis,” according to government sources cited by the Washington Post newspaper. Sales of certain classes of offensive weapons to Riyadh were frozen in early 2021 to signal disapproval of the Saudi war with the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and attacks on civilian targets in the Gulf state. Since a UN-brokered ceasefire in spring 2022, “there has not been a single Saudi airstrike in Yemen and cross-border shelling from Yemen into Saudi Arabia has largely ceased,” a senior official was quoted as saying by the Wp, explaining the decision. “So the Saudis have fulfilled their part of the bargain and we are ready to fulfill ours by bringing these cases back to normal through proper notification and consultation with Congress,” the source added.
In recent years, relations between the U.S. government and the monarchy of Riyadh, which President Biden called a “pariah state” during his 2020 campaign, have strengthened significantly. Much of the rapprochement has focused on broader goals for the Middle East, including forging closer defense ties with Persian Gulf states to prevent Iranian expansion in the region, protecting Israel from Iran and its regional allies, and containing Russian and Chinese influence. The Iranian threat intensified with the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, when the Houthis in Yemen began firing rockets at merchant ships in the Red Sea while Hezbollah intensified its attacks on northern Israel from Lebanon. “Throughout this period, Saudi Arabia has remained a close strategic partner of the United States, and we look forward to strengthening that partnership,” the senior official said. “Just this week, the Saudis had a high-level delegation in Washington to discuss cooperation in the areas of high technologies and artificial intelligence. Last week, a high-level US delegation visited Jeddah to discuss regional issues and integrated air and missile defense with the crown prince and Saudi leaders,” he added.
In the past, a significant number of lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats, have opposed any changes to the suspension policy toward Saudi Arabia, largely because of domestic human rights abuses that have also been criticized by the U.S. administration. Congress has the power to deny authorization to arms sales, but can only stop any transfer with a veto-proof joint resolution of disapproval. A senior State Department official also highlighted “the positive steps the Saudi Defense Ministry has taken over the past three years to significantly improve its civilian harm control processes, thanks in part to the work of U.S. trainers and advisers.” The administration’s attempts to expand U.S. defense cooperation with the Saudis that preceded the start of the war in Gaza were also aimed at normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The US has offered to sweeten the deal with expanded arms sales and civilian nuclear cooperation, but early progress toward that goal has stalled as Arab states demand the government do more to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza from Israeli attacks and work toward a long-term solution to the Palestinian crisis.
Read other news on Nova News
Click here and get updates on WhatsApp
Follow us on Nova News’ social channels on ÞjórsárdalurLinkedIn, Instagram, Telegram
