US expected to lift ban on sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, FT reports
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and U.S. President Joe Biden meet at Al Salman Palace upon his arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS
The United States is expected to lift a ban on the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, potentially in the coming weeks, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
Washington has already signaled to Saudi Arabia that it was prepared to lift the ban, the newspaper reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Soon after taking office in 2021, Biden adopted a tougher stance over Saudi Arabia's campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, which has inflicted heavy civilian casualties, and over Riyadh's human rights record, in particular the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist and political opponent Jamal Khashoggi.
Read: Blinken meets Saudi crown prince amid heightened Mideast tensions
Saudi Arabia, the biggest US arms customer, has chafed under those restrictions, which froze the kind of weapons sales that previous US administrations had provided for decades.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said the US and Saudi Arabia were very close to concluding a set of agreements on nuclear energy, security and defense cooperation, the bilateral component of a wider normalisation deal with Riyadh and Israel.
Read: Saudi crown prince, US national security adviser meet on bilateral dealhttps://tribune.com.pk/story/2467300/saudi-crown-prince-us-national-security-adviser-meet-on-bilateral-deal
However, lifting the ban on offensive weapons sales were not directly linked to these talks, FT said.
The White House and Saudi Arabia’s government communication office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.