President Joe Biden suspends arms deals with UAE and Saudi Arabia

The new American administration led by President Joe Biden has imposed a temporary freeze on US arms sales to Saudi Arabia and is reviewing purchases of arms by the United Arab Emirates in exchange of normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel.

The administration has temporarily frozen for review a massive package of F-35 jets to the United Arab Emirates.

A State Department spokesperson said the administration is “temporarily pausing the implementation” of a number of defense sales “to allow incoming leadership an opportunity to review.”

Former President Donald Trump’s administration agreed to the sale — the first of the stealth-capable planes to an Arab nation — after the United Arab Emirates agreed to recognize Israel. A potential halt to the sale could raise questions about whether the United Arab Emirates will continue its normalization with Israel, which Trump saw as a key foreign policy achievement.

The package to the United Arab Emirates also included unarmed drones, while the United States has been preparing major sales of munitions to Saudi Arabia.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during his confirmation hearing that the Saudi offensive against Yemen’s Huthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, has contributed to the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen.