WASHINGTON – The Biden government plans to suspend the sale of many offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia approved under the Trump administration, but this will serve a defensive purpose in selling other material, U.S. officials said Wednesday.
The plan, which was presented to Congress last week, is part of a billion-dollar government review of arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that the White House announced shortly after President Biden’s inauguration.
The original sales were strongly opposed last year by Democrats in Congress, who are angry about the countries’ involvement in the war in Yemen and cautious about the transfer of advanced military technology to authoritarian Middle Eastern states with ties to China.
According to a State Department spokesman, including F-35 fighter jets and armed Reaper drones, the Biden administration will approve $ 23 billion in arms sales to the United Arab Emirates. Biden administration officials indicated at the time of the review that the weapons sold to the Emirates shortly after signing a diplomatic deal with Israel mediated by the Trump administration would likely be approved.
The fate of President Donald J. Trump’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia was less clear. Mr. Biden, who said he wanted to restore Washington’s relationship with Riyadh, announced in February that he would “end all US support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including arms sales,” but the White House did not make provision. further details.
Since then, U.S. officials have debated which weapons sold under the Trump administration could likely be used for Saudi Arabia’s self-defense, including weapons of rocket and drone strikes by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who fought the Saudis in Yemen. . Although officials of the Biden government criticized Saudi Arabia and its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, they repeatedly promised to help the Saudis defend themselves.
U.S. officials say the Biden government plans to suspend the sale of offensive weapons from air to ground used by fixed-wing aircraft – mainly fighter jets and drones – to Saudi Arabia. These include systems that can convert ordinary bombs into precision-guided ammunition. The suspension is aimed at addressing one of the key concerns in the Yemeni war: the killings of civilians, including many children, due to the use of such bombs by the Saudi-led coalition.
Raytheon Company, the largest supplier of the bombs, urged the Trump administration to continue sales, despite a growing outcry from humanitarian groups, members of Congress and some in the State Department.
U.S. officials have said the suspension does not cover the sale of other weapons to Saudi Arabia. Weapons used by helicopters were still allowed, as well as ground-to-ground ammunition and handguns. Electronic equipment, including traction control technology, was also allowed. The Saudi military receives almost all of its weapons from the United States.
“You can not cut everything off while your partner is taking daily attacks on an adversary if you have made public statements about being committed to their safety,” said Kirsten Fontenrose, a director of the Atlantic Council. National Security Council served, said. director for the Persian Gulf region in the Trump White House.
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The review does not recommend suspending arms sales to the United Arab Emirates. The fact came to the attention of the Department of Justice on Monday lawyers formally notified about the decision, which officials say was taken this year as part of a lawsuit against the agreement brought by the nonprofit Center for Foreign Policy in New York.
The Emirates played a major role in the Yemeni war, but recently resigned. As part of negotiations last year to try to persuade the Emirates to normalize relations with Israel, the Trump administration has told Emirati officials that it will speed up the approval of sales of F-35 fighter jets and drones.
U.S. officials said Wednesday that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has received the report from other State Department offices this week and is expected to approve it. The report will then be sent to the National Security Council for final approval.
“I and many other House members remain concerned about the proposed $ 23 billion sale of arms to the UAE,” said New York Democrat Gregory W. Meeks, chairman of the State Department. He said he had “many questions about any decision by the Biden government to proceed with the proposed transfers of the Trump administration” from the fighter jets, drones and ammunition to the Emirates.
Israeli officials and some members of Congress have expressed concern that sales of F-35s, which they call Israel’s qualitative military advantage ‘over other countries in the region, would weaken, and that Congress requires presidential governments to maintain them legally. . Israel is currently the only country in the region with F-35s.
Other U.S. officials were concerned about the sale of the F-35, one of the military’s most advanced hardware, to the United Arab Emirates as it developed a closer relationship with China, notorious for technological espionage. U.S. officials are concerned, among other things, about the radar and stealth capabilities of F-35s and some drone technologies.
Mrs. Fontenrose added that some officials had additional concerns that the Emirates could use US-made weapons, including Reaper drones, in the Libyan civil war, where it intervened. She said the Emirates had given the Trump administration “assurance” at the front.
The State Department official, who requested anonymity to discuss policies that were not officially announced, noted that it would take years to finalize the arms deal of the Emirates and that the administration would ensure that the country fulfilled its obligations during that period. comply, such as protecting American technology and ensuring that American weapons are not used in contexts that violate human rights and conflict laws.
Mr. Meeks reproduced the point. “Fortunately, none of these transfers will take place any time soon,” he said, “so there will be enough time for Congress to examine whether these transfers should continue and what restrictions and conditions will be imposed.”
Mr. Trump’s agreement with the Emirates was approved shortly after he agreed to join the Abrahamic agreement, which normalized his diplomatic relations with Israel for the first time.
Some Democrats have complained that arms sales appear to have been an inappropriate incentive for the Emirates to agree to the agreements, which have largely formalized a relationship that has become increasingly friendly over the years.
“I still do not believe it is in our interest to incite an arms race in the Middle East,” said Senator Christopher S. Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut and a leading critic in Congress on arms sales and the U.S. ties to Gulf Arab said. state. “I requested an information session from the administration on the status of the review of sales from the UAE and Saudi Arabia.”