Washington: In a move meant to reassure a vital Arabian Gulf ally about the Iran nuclear deal, the Pentagon is finalising a $1 billion (Dh3.67 billion) arms agreement with Saudi Arabia that will provide weapons for the Saudi war effort against Daesh and in Yemen, senior administration officials said on Thursday.
Details of the pact are being worked out ahead of a visit by King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia to the White House yesterday, the officials said, adding that the deal must be approved by Congress before it is final. The two leaders are also expected to discuss additional military training that the United States can provide for Saudi Arabia as it adopts a more muscular stance in the region.
Backing Arabs
The weapons deal, although not the largest between the United States and Saudi Arabia, comes at a time when the Obama administration is promising Arab allies it will back them against what many Arab governments view as a rising Iran. It also comes as the Middle East is descending into proxy wars, sectarian conflicts and battles against terrorist networks.
The result is that countries in the region that had stockpiled American military hardware are now using it and wanting more, a boon for US defence contractors.
Administration officials said there are no warplanes included in the agreement, and stressed that at the moment the only country in the Middle East that will get F-35 fighter jets, considered the jewel of America’s future arsenal, is Israel.
Administration officials said the sale to the Saudis primarily comprised missiles that would fit the F-15 fighter jets Saudi Arabia previously bought from the United States.
But a senior administration official said “a range of other options meant to bolster Saudi defences” would also be discussed.
Defence Secretary Ash Carter discussed the munitions sale with King Salman in July when Carter visited the king at one of his palaces in Jeddah, and yesterday Carter was to meet with Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, in Washington.
Under King Salman, Saudi Arabia has become increasingly assertive in the Middle East, intervening in the war in Yemen and stepping up support for rebels in Syria.
