The White House has temporarily halted arms deals under the Trump administration with several Middle Eastern countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The announcement comes just one day after Foreign Minister Antony Blinken was confirmed by the Senate, and is seen as a ‘routine administrative action’ as the new government takes office.
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“The Department is temporarily suspending the implementation of some pending U.S. defense transfers and sales under foreign military and direct commercial sales to give incoming leadership an opportunity to review it,” a State Department spokesman told Fox on Wednesday. News said.
“This is a common administrative action that is typical of every transition, and it demonstrates the government’s commitment to transparency and good governance, as well as ensuring that US arms sales meet our strategic goals of building stronger, interoperable and capable security partners. , “the spokesman said. added.
The State Department has not confirmed in which countries the arms deals will freeze, but a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday noted that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are expected to be among the countries affected.
The US and the UAE entered into a $ 23 billion agreement late last year that would provide the Middle East country with 50 F-35 jets and 18 armed drones, along with other security equipment.
The agreement follows the normalization of diplomatic ties between Israel and the UAE in August – although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu originally called reports of the arms deal ‘fake news’.
“The peace agreement with the UAE contains no clauses on the matter, and the United States has explained to Israel that it will always protect Israel’s qualitative lead,” Netanyhu said in August.
But United Arab Emirates Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba confirmed the intended sale in a tweet on Wednesday, noting that the arms deal is helping the US maintain regional stability.
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“As in previous transitions, the UAE expected the new government to review current policies,” the ambassador said. “Specifically, the F-35 package is much more than selling military hardware to a partner.”
“It also enables the United Arab Emirates to take on more of the local burden for collective security and free up US assets for other global challenges, a long-term dual US priority,” he continued.
Blinken also said the weapons review is a procedure in a Wednesday briefing.
‘In general, when it comes to arms sales, it is typically at the beginning of an administration to review all pending sales to make sure that what is being considered is something that promotes our strategic objectives and promotes our foreign policy, so that’s what we’re doing right now, ‘he said.
Senate Democrats have sought to block the UAE arms deal, citing concerns over the Arab nation’s involvement in Yemen – which is the scene of the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, after years of civil war.
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Incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Bob Menendez, D-California, said he welcomed the decision to freeze arms sales, saying the deal was “inexplicably hastened without the consequences for U.S. national security and the thoroughly reviewing the protection of the innocent. living in Yemen. ‘
“I urge the Biden government to carefully consider the broader regional security implications of these sales and consult with Congress as it continues the necessary investigation into these and other arms sales,” Menendez said in a tweet Wednesday.
Rich Edison contributed to this report.