The US State Department has approved potential arms sales to three Middle East countries worth more than $16.5 billion amid the war in Iran.
The State Department approved the potential sale of missiles, drones, radar systems and F-16 munitions and upgrades to the United Arab Emirates for a combined total of more than $8.4 billion, it said in a statement on Thursday.
Also approved were possible sales of lower-tier air and missile defence sensor radars to Kuwait for an estimated cost of $8 billion and aircraft and munitions support to Jordan for an estimated cost of $70.5 million.
The sales follow Iran's attacks on energy infrastructure in response to Israeli attacks on its gas facilities, which marked the biggest escalation of the nearly three-week war, causing gas prices to surge and oil prices to rise further.
The State Department said the principal contractors in the sales will include RTX Corporation, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin Corporation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has "determined and provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale" of the military equipment, thereby waiving the requirement that Congress give its approval.
The biggest single sale is of lower-tier air and missile defence sensor radars — which are designed to track high-speed targets and give data to a missile defence network — to Kuwait for $8 billion, according to a statement from the State Department.
The next largest was to the United Arab Emirates for a long-range discrimination radar — which tracks ballistic missile threats — and related equipment at a cost of $4.5 billion, the State Department said.
The UAE also received approval to buy systems designed to defeat small, unmanned aircraft for $2.1 billion, advanced air-to-air missiles for $1.22 billion, and F-16 warplane munitions and upgrades for $644 million.
