US to lift ban on offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia
Biden administration has decided to lift a ban on U.S. sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, the State Department said on Friday, reversing a three-year-old policy to pressure the kingdom to wind down the Yemen war.
The State Department was lifting its suspension on certain transfers of air-to-ground munitions to Saudi Arabia, a senior department official confirmed. «We will consider new transfers on a typical case-by-case basis consistent with the Conventional Arms Transfer Policy,» the official said.
Reuters was first to report the decision earlier, citing five sources.
The administration briefed Congress this week on its decision to lift the ban, a congressional aide said. One source said sales could resume as early as next week. The U.S. government was moving ahead on Friday afternoon with notifications about a sale, a person briefed on the matter said.
«The Saudis have met their end of the deal, and we are prepared to meet ours,» a senior Biden administration official said.
Under U.S. law, major international weapons deals must be reviewed by members of Congress before they are made final. Democratic and Republican lawmakers have questioned the provision of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia in recent years, citing issues including the toll on civilians of its campaign in Yemen and a range of human rights concerns.
But that opposition has softened amid turmoil in the Middle East following Hamas' deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel and because of changes in the conduct of the campaign in Yemen.
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