US announces resumption of offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia
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Reports indicate that Riyadh is apprehensive about becoming involved in a new war in Yemen.
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A man stands under American and Saudi Arabian flags at a square in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in July 2022. (AP)
The United States announced Monday that it will resume offensive weapon supplies to Saudi Arabia, which had been banned some years ago because of human rights concerns in Yemen.
A Congressional aide told Reuters on Friday that US President Joe Biden's administration briefed Congress on the decision this week.
The three-year-old policy soured ties between the two governments and State Department spokesman Vedant Patel expressed that Saudi Arabia has "met their end of the deal, and we are prepared to meet ours."
"Saudi Arabia has remained a close strategic partner of the United States, and we look forward to enhancing that partnership," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
Supposedly, the US had taken the previous decision to ban offensive exports to facilitate a deal between Riyadh and Sanaa, however, the Yemeni government in Sanaa has accused the US of disrupting a final comprehensive deal.
It is also worth noting that the Biden administration has launched its own aggression on Yemen, firing more than 135 Tomahawk land attack missiles and launching seven air raids on the country in which at least 420 missiles and bombs were used to strike Yemen.
Bloomberg reported in late July that Saudi Arabia is taking steps to prevent a potential escalation into direct conflict with the Yemeni Resistance.
The kingdom's concern has grown following an expansion of operations from the Yemeni Resistance, who have recently targeted "Israel" and threatened to attack Saudi Arabia over plans to wage an economic war against them.
Reports indicate that Riyadh is apprehensive about becoming involved in a new conflict in Yemen. Sources close to the Saudi government’s strategy reveal that Saudi officials are urging the Western-recognized Yemeni government in Aden and the central bank to reconsider measures designed to weaken Sanaa.
The Saudis have warned that they might cut economic and military support to the administration they back if these actions continue, potentially leading to a conflict that the Riyadh-backed government could face alone.
Failed, extended aggression on Yemen costs US billions: Politico
The United States naval and aerial campaign in the Red Sea has become the most sustained military campaign by American forces since coalition forces launched attacks on ISIS in Iraq and Syria between 2016-2019, Politico reported.
US forces have launched nearly 800 missiles and seven aerial onslaughts on Yemen since November 2023, deploying a Carrier Strike Group and naval pieces to protect Israeli interests in the region.
The newspaper said that the emerging battle in the Red Sea has become the most expansive and enduring US military operation currently underway, which risks "chewing through munition" that the Pentagon would rather have available for a potential war with China in the Pacific.
Carrier Strike Group 12 extended its stay twice during the nine-month period in the Red Sea, where US forces fired over 135 Tomahawk land attack missiles, which cost between $2 million to $4 million per missile, resulting in a total expenditure ranging from at least $270 million to over $540 million.
US standard missiles used to destroy inexpensive attack drones also cost the US millions of dollars to procure, as Politico reports that 155 standard missiles of various types have been used in the same period. F-18 aircraft deployed on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower fired 60 air-to-air missiles and 420 air-to-surface weapons.
