The United States government has cleared $8.6 billion in arms transfers to its Middle Eastern partners amid the ongoing conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio fast-tracked the deals by invoking emergency provisions, allowing the sales to proceed without the prior congressional review typically mandated by the Arms Export Control Act.
In a series of announcements on Friday, the State Department confirmed it had provided a “detailed justification” for the emergency, asserting that the transfers are vital to the national security interests of the United States.
The region has faced a persistent wave of Iranian missile and drone attacks since the war began in late February, which has strained local air defence systems and exhausted stockpiles of American-made weapons, reports Al Jazeera.
Detailed allocations
The newly approved packages include nearly $5 billion for Qatar to acquire the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) and restock its Patriot air and missile defence systems. Patriot batteries are regarded as being among the most sophisticated interceptor technologies in the US military inventory.
Kuwait is set to receive $2.5 billion in battle command systems designed to enhance the country’s air defence detection capabilities using radar.
Israel has been cleared for a $992 million APKWS and related equipment package, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is slated for $148 million in APKWS technology. The APKWS is utilised to upgrade unguided rockets into precision-guided munitions.
These emergency measures follow separate arms sales approved in March worth $16.5 billion for the UAE, Kuwait, and Jordan. Those deals featured F-16 aircraft, drones, missiles, and various radar systems.
The heavy expenditure of US munitions in the conflict with Iran has raised alarms regarding Washington’s readiness for a potential confrontation with China over Taiwan.
A report published last month by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) indicated that while current supplies are adequate for the war on Iran, they would be insufficient for a major adversary such as China.
The CSIS warned that pre-existing inventory shortages mean current levels will “constrain US operations should a future conflict arise”.
