‘US approves $23b arms sale to UAE’

The Trump administration told Congress on Tuesday it had approved the US sale of more than $23 billion in advanced weapons systems, including F-35 fighter jets and armed drones, to the United Arab Emirates, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. The formal notification to lawmakers followed a US-brokered agreement in September in which the UAE agreed to normalize relations with Israel, becoming the first of three Arab states to make such a move in recent months. "This is in recognition of our deepening relationship and the UAE's need for advanced defense capabilities to deter and defend itself against heightened threats from Iran," Pompeo said in a statement