US Approves $8.6 Billion Arms Sales to Middle East Allies Amid Iran Conflict

Kathmandu. Amid the ongoing US-Israel war in Iran, the United States has approved the sale of arms worth $8.6 billion to its West Asian allies.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that this deal was advanced without prior review by the US Congress, citing an emergency situation.

Since the war began at the end of February, Iran has intensified missile and drone attacks on Israel and Gulf nations.

Due to retaliatory attacks, the arms reserves of these countries have been depleted, and their air defense systems have come under further pressure. Keeping this situation in mind, the US government has accelerated arms supply to strengthen the defense capabilities of its allies.

Under this deal, Israel will be provided with Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) worth approximately $992 million.

Kuwait will purchase Battle Command Systems worth $2.5 billion, which are expected to improve aerial surveillance capabilities through radar.

Qatar will replenish APKWS and Patriot Air Defense Systems by spending about $5 billion, while the sale of APKWS worth $148 million to the United Arab Emirates has been approved.

The US State Department has described these arms sales as an emergency decision based on US national security interests.

This approval was granted by bypassing the congressional review process mentioned in the Arms Export Control Act. The Patriot system is considered one of the most advanced defense equipment.

It is used to intercept missiles, while APKWS transforms ordinary rockets into precision-guided weapons. Earlier in March, the US had already approved a separate arms sale worth $16.5 billion to the UAE, Kuwait, and Jordan.