The United States has approved $8.6 billion in arms sales to Middle Eastern allies amid the US-Israel war on Iran. The sales come after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited emergency circumstances to fast-track the transfers 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 start of the war in late February, draining their stockpiles of US weapons and straining their air defence systems.
The sales include the transfer of an advanced precision kill weapon system (APKWS) and related equipment to Israel for $992 million, and the purchase of battle command systems by Kuwait for $2.5 billion. Qatar has been approved to buy an APKWS and restock its Patriot air and missile defence systems at a cost of nearly $5 billion, while the United Arab Emirates has been cleared to buy an APKWS for $148 million.
In a series of announcements on Friday, the US State Department said it had provided “detailed justification” of an emergency requiring the sales “in the national security interests of the United States”, bypassing the congressional review process outlined in the Arms Export Control Act.
Patriot systems are used to intercept incoming projectiles and rank among the most advanced defence equipment in the US military arsenal. The APKWS is used to convert unguided rockets into precision-guided munitions.
The State Department in March approved separate arms sales worth $16.5 billion to the UAE, Kuwait and Jordan, including drones, missiles, radar systems and F-16 aircraft for the UAE, and air and missile defence radar systems for Kuwait.
Away from the Gulf, the heavy use of US munitions in the war on Iran has raised concerns about Washington’s ability to fight China in the case of a war over Taiwan. A report published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies last month concluded that prewar inventories were already insufficient and current levels will constrain US operations should a future conflict arise.
Source: www.aljazeera.com