Washington DC, May 25: The United States has confirmed on Friday the approval of arms sale to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan worth USD 8.1 billion amidst rancour with Iran.
According to ANI news reports, the arms sale includes reconnaissance, surveillance and intelligence, aircraft support maintenance, munitions and other supplies.
In a tweet, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said, “Today, acting in accordance with the authority granted to us by Congress, I made a determination under the Arms Export Control Act to formally notify Congress of 22 arms sales to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. These directly protect U.S. citizens and our partners.”
We presented some of these sales almost 18 months ago to Congress, but it has failed to act. The U.S. is, and must remain, a reliable security partner in the Gulf and to our allies around the world. It’s fundamental to our national security.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 24, 2019
The development comes hours after Bob Menendez, a US Senator, stated US President Donald Trump administration invoked allocation in US arms law that would enable the White House to pass the legislation by bypassing US Congress to sell arms to Riyadh.
After the approval, the US president publicly stated he would not put an end to support for the Saudi Arabia-led war in war-ravaged Yemen.
Last month, Trump had vetoed US Congress resolution to end American military presence and involvement in the Yemen civil war.
However, the development holds a significance as the US was involved in a dangerous standoff.
Yesterday, US Democrats have cautioned Trump administration was preparing to bypass Congress and approve a crucial new arms sale to Saudi Arabia, using an “emergency” loophole.
On Thursday, a Democrat, Senator Chris Murphy, told Al-Jazeera, “I am expecting that the administration is going to notice a major arms sale through emergency powers.”
American arms control law enables Congress to dismiss weapon sales of international nations but an exemption in arms law enables the president to waive the arms assistance for US congressional approval by declaring a state of a national security emergency.