US Signs Last-Minute Saudi Arms Deal Before Administration Change

The United States Department of Defense on Tuesday announced that the State Department had authorized a new $290 million weapons deal with Saudi Arabia, and would soon be headed to Congress for final approval. The agreement includes the sale of 3,000 precision-guided bombs to Riyadh, and was announced less than a month before President Donald Trump is to step down. His successor, President-elect Joe Biden, has stated his intention to re-evaluate US-Saudi relations and the sale of advanced arms to the kingdom over its involvement in Yemen’s civil war and its human rights abuses. Last month, a bipartisan effort in Congress to stop the sale of F-35 fighter jets to another Gulf state, the United Arab Emirates, came up short. “The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region,” the Pentagon promised in the statement released Tuesday, adding: “There will be no adverse impact on US defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.”