The United States has approved $8.6bn in arms sales to Middle East allies, citing emergency circumstances to fast-track the transfers without prior congressional review. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked the emergency authority as the U.S.-Israel war on Iran continued.
The State Department said it provided detailed justification that an emergency requiring the sales was in the national security interests of the United States, bypassing the congressional review process outlined in the Arms Export Control Act. The package includes the transfer of an advanced precision kill weapon system (APKWS) and related equipment to Israel for $992m. Qatar was approved to buy an APKWS and restock its Patriot air and missile defense systems at a cost of nearly $5bn. Kuwait purchased battle command systems for $2.5bn, equipment that will improve the country's air defense detection with radar. The United Arab Emirates was cleared to buy an APKWS for $148m.
Patriot systems, used to intercept incoming projectiles, rank among the most advanced defense equipment in the U.S. military arsenal. The APKWS is used to convert unguided rockets into precision-guided munitions.
Israel and the Gulf states have faced a barrage of missile and drone attacks from Iran since the start of the war in late February. The attacks have drained their stockpiles of U.S. weapons and strained their air defense systems.
In March, the State Department approved separate arms sales worth $16.5bn to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Jordan. Those deals included drones, missiles, radar systems and F-16 aircraft for the UAE, and air and missile defense radar systems for Kuwait.
A report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies concluded that the United States had enough stockpiles for the war on Iran but would need more for an adversary such as China. "Prewar inventories were already insufficient; the levels today will constrain US operations should a future conflict arise," the report said.