By Zachary F. Vasile, Journal Inquirer
President Joe Biden has reportedly moved to temporarily freeze weapons sales from U.S. arms manufacturers to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a decision that could jeopardize Raytheon Technologies Corp.’s $478 million precision-guided bomb contract with the Royal Saudi Armed Forces.
According to reports from the Wall Street Journal and financial media company Bloomberg, the Biden administration wants time to review the deals and has concerns about the deployment of American-made military technology against civilians in Yemen, where the Saudi military and numerous Arab allies are battling a rebel group backed by Iran.
Reuters
Published: 28 Jan 2021 08:22 PM BdST
Updated: 28 Jan 2021 08:22 PM BdST
President Joe Biden’s administration has temporarily paused some pending arms sales to US allies in order to review them, a US State Department official said on Wednesday. );
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Reviews of this sort are typical for a new administration, but Donald Trump’s administration was doing deals down to the wire, including one for 50 stealthy F-35 jets made by Lockheed Martin as a side deal to the Abraham accords inked only moments before Biden was sworn into office.
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 to review, the official said.
Joe Biden freezes billions of dollars of arms sales to the Middle East dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
UAE envoy says his country expected US review of policies
“The UAE will work closely with the Biden administration on a comprehensive approach to Middle East peace and stability,” Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba said in the post.
Thursday 28/01/2021
A file picture shows Yousef Al Otaiba, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States, speaking in New York. (AFP)
WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden’s administration has temporarily paused some pending arms sales to US allies in order to review them, a US State Department official said on Wednesday.
Reviews of this sort are typical for a new administration and the State Department said it was temporarily pausing sales authorised by former President Donald Trump, including a $23 billion package of cutting-edge F-35 jets to the United Arab Emirates.