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The new US administration is temporarily suspending the sale of F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and smart bombs to Saudi Arabia.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, informed on Wednesday that the measure responds to the need to review whether or not the aforementioned sales are in line with the new foreign policy strategies of the American country.
Although the U.S. State Department has not mentioned how long the suspension will last, local media have indicated that it could take years.
The aforementioned agreements were reached during the term of office of former US President Donald Trump and the UAE case was also approved by the US Congress.
The agreement included the sale of 50 F-35 fighter jets from the Lockheed Martin company, worth $23.37 billion, and was sealed after the Abu Dhabi authorities agreed to normalize their ties with the Israeli regime, under Trump’s mediation. US media claim that the decision by the Administration of the new US President Joe Biden to cancel the sale agreement would affect the peace agreement reached with Israel.
The other postponed sale corresponds to a license that Trump had granted to supply Raytheon’s Paveway IV smart bomb to Saudi Arabia, which is leading a war against Yemen.
Israel had already shown its total rejection of the sale of the F-35 and other modern weapons to any state in the region, including Arab countries planning to maintain relations with that regime, although former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured on August 24, 2020 that the US would review possible arms sales to the UAE and would continue to ensure that Israel would enjoy a “military advantage
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