The US State Department announced on Friday (August 9) that the Biden administration has decided to lift the ban on selling offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia.
Three years ago, shortly after Biden took office, he suspended the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, criticizing the country’s actions in the Yemeni war. At the time, critics were concerned that US-made weapons could be used in airstrikes, leading to civilian deaths.
Traditionally, Saudi Arabia has been one of the largest buyers of US weaponry. Following the ceasefire agreement reached by the United Nations in 2022, relations between the US and Saudi Arabia have significantly improved. Especially after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Ethiopia conflict, Washington increasingly believes in the need to cooperate with Saudi Arabia on key issues like energy and to support US policies in the Middle East.
A senior official at the US State Department confirmed that the US will lift the ban on transferring certain air-to-ground ammunition to Saudi Arabia. The official stated, “We will consider new transfers on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the conventional arms transfer policy.”
Reuters was the first to report this decision, citing information from five sources. Subsequently, Bloomberg and other media outlets also reported on the matter, citing their own sources.
A congressional aide told Reuters that the US government notified Congress this week of the decision to lift the ban. It was mentioned that sales could potentially resume as early as next week. An insider revealed that the US government began the process of informing about the sales on Friday afternoon.
A Biden administration official stated, “Saudi Arabia has fulfilled their agreements, and we are ready to fulfill ours.”
The official mentioned that since the UN-led ceasefire agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels in March 2022, Saudi Arabia has not conducted any airstrikes in Yemen. The behavior of cross-border firing from Yemen to Saudi Arabia has also largely ceased.
The official added, “We have also noted that the Saudi Ministry of Defense has taken significant steps in the past three years to greatly improve procedures to reduce civilian harm, partly thanks to the work of US-trained personnel and advisors.”
The Yemeni war is considered one of the proxy conflicts between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Houthi rebels drove the Saudi-supported government out of the Yemeni capital Sanaa at the end of 2014 and have been in conflict with the Saudi-led military coalition since 2015. This conflict has brought devastating consequences to Yemen, with an estimated 370,000 people dead from fighting and famine, leaving 80% of the population reliant on humanitarian aid.
In 2021, Biden took a tougher stance on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, citing the country’s campaign in Yemen against the Iran-allied Houthi rebels resulting in numerous civilian casualties.
Subsequently, relations between Saudi Arabia and the US have warmed. Following an attack by Hamas on October 7 last year, cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the US intensified, and they collaborated on a reconstruction plan for post-war Gaza.
The Biden administration has also attempted to broker talks for normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, and to reach defense and civilian nuclear energy cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia. Despite the current situation in the Middle East, this remains a challenging objective.