Washington-Sana
Three members of the US Senate submitted a joint bill to block a proposed $650 million arms deal to Saudi Arabia, against the backdrop of its ongoing aggression against Yemen.
"With the Saudi government continuing to wage its devastating war in Yemen and oppressing its own people, we should not reward it with more arms sales," the bill, which was introduced by Republican House members Rand Paul and Mike Lee, as well as pro-Democrat Bernie Sanders, excerpted by Reuters, said.
Sanders said the administration of President Joe Biden is adopting a policy of selling defensive weapons only to its Gulf ally, while Paul warned that this deal could accelerate an "arms race" in the region and endanger the security of Washington's military technology.
Many US lawmakers are critical of the Saudi aggression on Yemen, which has created one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters, recognized by the United Nations.
The lawmakers refuse to agree to several arms deals for Riyadh. The deal approved by the US State Department includes 280 AIM 120C7C8 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM), 596 LAU 128 launchers, as well as containers. Support equipment, spare parts, engineering and technical support provided by the US government and contractors.
It is noteworthy that the Saudi regime, with the support of the United States, has been waging an aggression against the Yemeni people since March 2015, leaving tens of thousands of victims and massive damage to infrastructure.