The White House has temporarily suspended arms deals negotiated under the Trump administration with several Middle Eastern nations, including the United Arab Emirates (United Arab Emirates).
The announcement came just a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken was confirmed by the Senate and is being presented as “routine administrative action” as the new government settles into its new positions.
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“The department is temporarily pausing the implementation of some pending US defense transfers and sales under Foreign Military Sales and Direct Commercial Sales to allow incoming leadership an opportunity for review,” a State Department spokesman told Fox News. on Wednesday.
“This is a typical routine administrative action for almost all transitions and demonstrates the government’s commitment to transparency and good governance, as well as ensuring that US arms sales meet our strategic goals of building stronger security partners. , interoperable and capable, “said the added spokesman.
The State Department did not confirm which countries will see freezes in the arms trade, but a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday noted that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates must be among the affected nations.
The United States and the United Arab Emirates signed a $ 23 billion deal at the end of last year that would provide the Middle East country with 50 F-35 jets and 18 armed drones, along with other security equipment.
The agreement followed the normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates in August – although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu originally called the arms deal reports “false news”.
“The peace agreement with the United Arab Emirates does not include any clause on the matter and the United States has clarified to Israel that it will always safeguard Israel’s qualitative advantage,” said Netanyhu in August.
But the UAE ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al Otaiba, confirmed his intention to sell in a tweet on Wednesday, and noted that the arms deal helps the United States maintain regional stability.
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“As in previous transitions, the United Arab Emirates anticipated a review of current policies by the new government,” said the ambassador. “Specifically, the F-35 package is much more than selling military hardware to a partner.”
“This also allows the United Arab Emirates to take on more of the regional burden for collective security, freeing US assets for other global challenges, a longstanding bipartisan priority for the United States,” he continued.
Blinken also said the arms review was a matter of procedure at a briefing on Wednesday.
“Generally speaking, when it comes to arms sales, it is typical at the beginning of a government to review sales pending issues to make sure that what is being considered is something that advances our strategic objectives and advances our foreign policy, so it is that’s what we’re doing right now, “he said.
Senate Democrats tried to block the UAE’s arms deal, citing concerns about the Arab nation’s involvement in Yemen – which is the scene of the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, after years of civil war.
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The new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Bob Menendez, D-Calif., Said he welcomed the decision to freeze arms sales, saying the deal was “inexplicably rushed without a full review of the security implications. US national and protection of the innocent lives in Yemen. “
“I encourage the Biden government to carefully consider the broader regional security implications of these sales and to consult with Congress as it continues its due diligence on these and other arms sales,” Menendez said in a tweet on Wednesday.
Rich Edison contributed to this report.