WASHINGTON — The United States has approved $8.6 billion in arms sales to its Middle East allies, the State Department said. The deals will see weapons sold to Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Reuters reported the development on Friday, May 1.
The State Department said the Trump administration has approved the sale of military equipment to Middle East allies. The decision came nine weeks after the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran. A fragile cease-fire has been in effect for more than three weeks.
The State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited emergency circumstances for the decision, noting that the countries need the weapons immediately. The sales have been exempted from the usual congressional review requirement.
The announcement said Qatar will receive $4.01 billion in maintenance services for Patriot air and missile defense systems and $992.4 million in Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS). Kuwait will receive $2.5 billion in integrated battle command systems, Israel will receive $992.4 million in APKWS, and the United Arab Emirates will receive $147.6 million in APKWS.
The United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. Iran retaliated by striking Israel and US bases in Gulf countries. The US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands.
The State Department said BAE Systems was the prime contractor for APKWS sales to Qatar, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. RTX Corp. and Lockheed Martin were the prime contractors for the integrated battle command system sale to Kuwait and the Patriot defense system maintenance services for Qatar. Northrop Grumman was also a prime contractor in the Kuwait deal.
Washington has faced criticism for years over its military ties with Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Human rights activists allege that minorities, journalists, dissidents, LGBTQ communities and workers face various restrictions and abuses in these countries. The countries have denied the human rights allegations against them.
US support for Israel has also drawn criticism, particularly because of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Tens of thousands have been killed, food shortages have developed, and some researchers and a United Nations investigation have described the situation as genocide.
Israel says it took the steps in self-defense after the Hamas-led attack in October 2023 killed 1,200 people. The United States has continued its support for its allies.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report