Over Iran tensions
\nWeapons will also be sold to the United Arab Emirates and Jordan
\nOnline
\nWashington
\nUS President Donald Trump is approving the sale of billions of dollars\u2019 worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, citing Iranian threats to its arch rival.
\nTrump invoked a rarely used aspect of federal law to push through the $8bn (\u00a36bn) deal – bypassing Congress.
\nHe did so by declaring that ongoing tensions with Iran amounted to a national emergency.
\nThe move has angered those who fear the weapons may be used against civilians in Yemen by Saudi-led forces.
\nSome Democrats accused the president of bypassing Congress because the sale of weapons – including precision-guided bombs – would have been strongly opposed on Capitol Hill.
\nWeapons will also reportedly be sold to the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
\nMembers of Congress have heavily criticised Saudi Arabia\u2019s human rights record over its role in the Yemen conflict and for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul last October.
\nOn Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo notified Congress of the administration\u2019s decision to make the sale. In a letter, widely reported in US media, he said that \u201cIranian malign activity\u201d required the \u201cimmediate sale\u201d of weapons.
\n\u201c[Iran\u2019s] activity poses a fundamental threat to the stability of the Middle East and to American security at home and abroad,\u201d he wrote.
\nHe said the transfers \u201cmust occur as quickly as possible in order to deter further Iranian adventurism in the Gulf and throughout the Middle East\u201d.
\nThe move quickly garnered opposition. Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, accused Trump of \u201cgranting favours to authoritarian countries\u201d.
\n\u201c[He] has failed once again to prioritise our long term national security interests or stand up for human rights,\u201d he said in a statement.
\nRepublican Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Senator Jim Risch, said he had been informed by the Trump administration that it planned to confirm \u201ca number of arms sales\u201d.
\n\u201cI am reviewing and analysing the legal justification for this action,\u201d he said.
\nSenior Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said the US needed to rein in Saudi Arabia rather than hand it more weapons.
\n\u201cMy whole view of Saudi Arabia changed with the murder of Jamal Khashoggi,\u201d she said.
\nKhashoggi, who was a strong critic of the Saudi government, was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. His body was reportedly dismembered and his remains have still not been found.
\nIran also reacted angrily to the US move, with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif calling it \u201cextremely dangerous\u201d for international peace.
\nNews of the Trump administration\u2019s decision came shortly after it announced it would bolster the US military presence in the Middle East. An additional 1,500 troops, as well as fighter jets and drones, will be deployed to the region in the near future.
\nPatrick Shanahan, the acting Defence Secretary, says the move was intended to counter \u201congoing threats posed by Iranian forces, including the IRGC [Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard Corps] and its proxies\u201d.
\nTensions between the US and Iran began rising this month when Washington put pressure on countries still buying from Iran by ending exemptions from sanctions. The decision was intended to bring Iran\u2019s oil exports to zero, denying the government its main source of revenue.
\nTrump reinstated the sanctions last year after abandoning the landmark nuclear deal that Iran has signed with six nations – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Over Iran tensions Weapons will also be sold to the United Arab Emirates and Jordan Online Washington US President Donald Trump is approving the sale of billions of dollars\u2019 worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, citing Iranian threats to its arch rival. Trump invoked a rarely used aspect of federal law to push through the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n