(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) The State Department has approved a $3.5 billion sale of air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia ahead of President Trump’s planned visit to the country.
The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the sale includes 1,000 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, related equipment, and US government contracting services. The missiles can be fired by Saudi Arabia’s fleet of US-made F-15 fighter jets.
President Trump is scheduled to arrive in Saudi Arabia on May 13 and is expected to announce a series of new arms sales to the Kingdom. According to Reuters, he could unveil over $100 billion in weapons deals.
Axios has reported that, on May 14, Trump will attend a summit in Saudi Arabia of leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council states, which include the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman.
The visit to Saudi Arabia will mark Trump’s second foreign trip after his brief visit to Italy for Pope Francis’s funeral. According to Middle East Eye, the Saudis have made clear to the administration that they don’t want to discuss normalizing relations with Israel.
Saudi officials have made clear that normalization is off the table as long as the genocidal war in Gaza continues. “Saudi Arabia is serious not to be tricked into anything that regards Israel during the upcoming visit. It was made clear in DC,” an Arab official told MEE.
Trump maintained close ties with the Saudis during his first term, advancing major arms sales and providing support for the brutal Saudi-led war against the Houthis in Yemen. In 2019, Trump vetoed a congressional resolution to end US involvement in the war.
Trump is currently conducting his own bombing campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, which, like the Saudi campaign, has taken a huge toll on civilians.
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
