In response to the offensive by the United States and Israel, Iran targets American interests and civilian industrial infrastructure in the Gulf region.
“An urgent situation requiring immediate sale,” according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. On Thursday, March 19, Washington announced the approval of arms sales totaling more than sixteen billion dollars to the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, two Gulf countries affected by the repercussions of the war against Iran.
Since the United States and Israel launched their offensive against Tehran on February 28, Iran has retaliated with missile and drone strikes on its Gulf neighbors, specifically targeting American interests and civilian industrial infrastructure. Marco Rubio “provided detailed justifications and established that there is an urgent situation requiring immediate sale” of the military equipment in question to these countries, “in the interest of US national security,” the State Department wrote, bypassing the need for approval from the US Congress to finalize these transactions.
The largest sale, amounting to eight billion dollars for Kuwait, includes radars designed for anti-aircraft defense, capable of detecting fast-moving targets and transmitting data to a missile defense network. The United States will provide the United Arab Emirates with a long-range radar for tracking ballistic missile threats, worth 4.5 billion dollars. The active arms sales also involve an anti-drone system for 2.1 billion dollars, advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles for 1.22 billion dollars, and ammunition for F-16 fighter jets for 644 million dollars.
