The US State Department announced in separate statements a” large arms package to Israel, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait“, a package that, according to media outlets such as CNN and the New York Times, is estimated to be worth more than $8 billion.
These sales were made under the Foreign Military Sales program and officially announced by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and include air defense systems for Kuwait and “Qatar, Patriot missiles for Qatar, as well as laser-guided missiles for Qatar, the UAE and Israel”. The equipment is intended to strengthen the defense capabilities of US allies and increase military coordination in the region.
All of these statements emphasized that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has deemed these sales necessary by declaring a “national emergency” – a decision that allows the administration to bypass the usual congressional review and approval process. According to CNN, this is one of several cases in which Washington has made emergency arms sales since the start of the war with Iran.
Earlier in March, the US government declared a state of emergency and approved the immediate sale of 12,000 bombs to Israel, and then accelerated other multi-billion dollar packages to the UAE and Kuwait, as well as air support and ammunition to Jordan.
These developments occur at a time when, after the “US and Israeli attacks” began on March 30, Iran targeted Israel and some countries in the region with missile and drone attacks, especially countries that host US military bases. In such circumstances, the increase in arms sales to US regional allies indicates an intensification of military competition and an effort to strengthen defense systems in the Middle East.
