The United States has approved $8.6 billion in arms sales to Middle Eastern allies amid the US-Israel war on Iran. These sales follow US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s declaration of emergency circumstances, allowing the transfers to be fast-tracked without prior review by the US Congress. Israel and the Gulf states have faced a barrage of missile and drone attacks from Iran since the war began in late February, depleting their stockpiles of US weapons and straining their air defense systems. The sales include the transfer of an advanced precision kill weapon system (APKWS) and related equipment to Israel for $992 million, and Kuwait’s purchase of battle command systems for $2.5 billion. Qatar has been approved to acquire an APKWS and replenish its Patriot air and missile defense systems at a cost of nearly $5 billion, while the United Arab Emirates has been cleared to purchase an APKWS for $148 million. In a series of announcements on Friday, the US State Department stated it had provided “detailed justification” for an emergency necessitating the “immediate sale” of the weapons “in the national security interests of the United States,” thereby bypassing the congressional review process outlined in the Arms Export Control Act. Patriot systems are utilized to intercept incoming projectiles and are considered among the most advanced defense equipment in the US military arsenal. The APKWS is employed to convert unguided rockets into precision-guided munitions. The battle command systems for Kuwait will enhance the country’s air defense detection capabilities with radar, according to the State Department. In March, the State Department had approved separate arms sales totaling $16.5 billion to the UAE, Kuwait, and Jordan. Get instant alerts and updates based on your interests. Be the first to know when big stories happen. These deals included drones, missiles, radar systems, and F-16 aircraft for the UAE, along with air and missile defense radar systems for Kuwait. Beyond the Gulf, the extensive use of US munitions in the war on Iran has sparked concerns regarding Washington’s capacity to engage China in a potential conflict over Taiwan, the self-governed island claimed by Beijing as its territory. A report published last month by the Center for Strategic and International Studies concluded that while the US possessed sufficient stockpiles for the war on Iran, it would require more for an adversary like China. “Pre-war inventories were already insufficient; current levels will constrain US operations should a future conflict arise,” the report stated.
#USArmsSales #MiddleEastSecurity #DefenseDeals #USForeignPolicy #MilitaryAid #IranConflict #PatriotMissile #APKWS #CongressionalReview #Geopolitics
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