Saudi Arabia 'agrees $7 billion US arms deal'

Saudi Arabia has reportedly agreed to buy $7 billion worth of precision guided munitions from US companies, despite Washington's increasing criticism of its bombing campaign in Yemen.

MENA

3 min read

The New Arab

23 November, 2017

Yemen has been devastated by a Saudi-led bombing campaign [AFP]

Saudi Arabia has reportedly agreed to buy $7 billion worth of arms from US defence firms, sources have said.

The kingdom bought precision guided munitions from American firms Raytheon Co and Boeing Co, Reuters reported, in a deal likely to spark outrage over the weapons' use in the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen.

The deal was part of a $110 billion weapons agreement that coincided with President Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia in May.

Both companies declined comment on the weapons sale.

Arms sales to the kingdom and other Gulf Cooperation Council members have become increasingly contentious in the US Congress, which must approve such sales.

The US State Department has yet to formally notify Congress of the precision guided munitions deal.

"We do not comment to confirm or deny sales until they are formally notified to Congress," a State Department official said, adding the US government will take into account factors "including regional balance and human rights as well as the impact on the US defence industrial base."

The Saudi-led coalition has been backing the Yemen government fighting Iran-allied Houthis rebels since March 2015 - a bloody war that has killed thousands of civilians and pushed the poorest Arab country to the brink of famine.

Amnesty International is among human rights groups that have reported US-made weapons were used in Saudi strikes on residential areas.

Saudi Arabia has either denied attacks or cited the presence of fighters in the targeted areas and said it has tried to reduce civilian casualties.

Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Washington, Prince Khalid bin Salman declined to comment on the specific sale, but said in a statement his country will follow through on the agreements signed during Trump's visit.

Saudi Arabia has shown they will fight in Yemen and they're going to keep on fighting in Yemen regardless of what we think

He said that while the kingdom has always chosen the United States for weapons purchases, "... Saudi Arabia's market selection remains a choice and is committed to defending its security".

Trump, a Republican who views weapons sales as a way to create jobs in the US, has announced billions of dollars in arms sales since taking office in January.

A US government official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the agreement is designed to cover a 10-year period and it could be years before actual transfers of weapons take place.

The agreement could be held up in Congress, where Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced in June that he would block arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other members of the GCC, over a diplomatic dispute with Qatar, another US ally in the Gulf.

In November 2016, the Democratic Obama administration halted the sale of $1.29 billion worth of precision guided weapons because of concerns about the extent of civilian casualties in Yemen.

US lawmakers have grown increasingly critical of the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen. The coalition had briefly banned naval, air and land transportation to Yemen after a missile fired by Houthis was shot down over the Saudi capital Riyadh.

David Des Roches, a senior military fellow at the Near East South Asia Center for Security Studies in Washington, told Reuters that denying Saudi new weapons was unlikely to change their behaviour.

"Saudi Arabia has shown they will fight in Yemen and they're going to keep on fighting in Yemen regardless of what we think," he said.

Agencies contributed to this report