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On May 20, 2017,U.S. PresidentDonald Trump andSaudi Arabia'sSalman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud signed a series of letters of intent for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia topurchase arms from the United States totaling US$110 billion immediately,[1] and $350 billion over 10 years.[2][3] The intended purchases includetanks, combat ships, missile defense systems, as well asradar,communications and cybersecurity technology. The transfer was widely seen as a counterbalance against the influence ofIran in the region[4][5] and a "significant" and "historic" expansion ofUnited States relations with Saudi Arabia.[6][7][8][2][9]
Saudi Arabia is a key U.S. ally in the Middle East.[10][11] Saudi Arabia's security forces have relied on U.S. equipment, training, and service support for decades, officiallyas a counterbalance to Iranian military influence in the region, and to help protect the Kingdom from extremist attacks. Between 2011 and 2015, Saudi Arabia was the destination for nearly 10% of all U.S. arms exports.[12] In 2016, theObama administration proposed a series of arms deals worth $115 billion, including warships, helicopters, and maintenance.[13] However, some parts of this deal were blocked by the administration in December 2016 after Saudi Arabia's airstrikes and targeting procedures in neighboring Yemen drew controversy.[14] After Saudi warplanestargeted a funeral in Yemen's capital Sanaa, killing more than 140 people, the Obama administration announced its intention to review U.S. military assistance to Saudi Arabia.[15]
The 2017 deal was partially created with the help ofJared Kushner, son-in-law of andsenior advisor to President Trump; Kushner had cultivated relationships with Saudi royalty during the transition and personally contactedLockheed Martin during the deal-making process.[16][17]
The signing occurred at theRiyadh summit, and was part of Trump's 2017 series of visits to theVatican, Saudi Arabia andIsrael. It also was related to a $20 billion investment in mostly American infrastructure.[18]
Saudi Arabia signed billions of dollars of deals with U.S. companies in thearms industry andpetroleum industry, includingLockheed Martin,Boeing,Raytheon,General Dynamics,Northrop Grumman,General Electric,ExxonMobil,Halliburton,Honeywell,McDermott International,Jacobs Solutions,National Oilwell Varco,Nabors Industries,Weatherford International,Schlumberger andDow Chemical.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][excessive citations]
Saudi Arabia joined theBlackstone Group in May 2017 in a $40 billion fund to invest in stateside infrastructure projects.[26]
The White House hailed the deal as a "significant expansion" of the two nations' "security relationships".[27] TheUnited States Secretary of StateRex Tillerson described the deal as "historic" and said that it would counterIran, and urged them to halt support of destabilizing forces in the Middle East,[28][29] although he hinted the United States would be open to discussions.[30]
In December 2018, the Senators in the US voted to end American military assistance for Saudi Arabia'swar in Yemen. The 56-to-41 vote came after the controversialkilling of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and thousands of civilian casualties in Yemen. SenatorBernie Sanders, who co-wrote the resolution, said it is the first time Congress had used the law to make clear "that the constitutional responsibility for making war rests with the United States Congress, not the White House. Today, we tell the despotic regime in Saudi Arabia that we will not be part of their military adventurism."[31]
Trump vetoed a resolution on April 16, 2019 that would have ended American support of Saudi Arabia's war with Yemen.[32][33]
On July 24, 2019, Trump vetoed three bills that were meant to stop billions of dollars of arms to Saudi Arabia.[34][35][36]
On September 24, 2020, theDemocratic Party introduced a legislation to control theUnited States foreign arms sales. The legislation was introduced whileTrump administration was in discussions, led byJared Kushner, about the possible sale ofF-35s to the UAE. In the past theTrump administration has sold billions of dollars' worth of weapons to Gulf alliesSaudi Arabia and theUnited Arab Emirates, during their active involvement in theYemen civil war.[37]
On November 18, 2020, three US senators namely, Democratic Senators Bob Menendez and Chris Murphy and Republican Senator Rand Paul announced four separate resolutions in disagreement of President Donald Trump's plan to sell more than $23 billion worth of Reaper drones, F-35 fighter aircraft and air-to-air missiles and other munitions to the UAE.[38]
Tulsi Gabbard—a Democratic Representative fromHawaii—criticized the move, saying that "Saudi Arabia is a country with a devastating record of human rights violations at home and abroad and has a long history of providing support to terrorist organizations that threaten the American people".[39][40]Rand Paul introduced a bill to try to block the plan calling it a "travesty".[41][42][43]
US defense stocks reached all-time highs after the announcement.[44][24][45]
SenatorJohn McCain toldAl Jazeera: "The Saudis are in a war in Yemen and they need weapons. You want to win, you need weapons. We are in a war."[46] According to SenatorChris Murphy, "That $110 billion is a mix of old sales and future prospective sales that have not been announced or signed."[46]
Iran –Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei called Saudi Arabia a "cow being milked" by the United States.[47]
Israel –Yuval Steinitz,Minister of National Infrastructures, Energy, and Water Resources, expressed "concern".[48][49]
Saudi Arabia – TheGovernment of Saudi Arabia praised the deal, and it stated that it is a turning point in Saudi–American relations.[50]
Yemen – More than 10,000 Yemeni people protested the deal inSana'a.Houthis fired a ballistic missile toward the Saudi capitalRiyadh.[51][52]
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On June 5, 2017,Bruce Reidel of theBrookings Institution wrote that the arms deal consisted of "a bunch of letters of interest or intent, but not contracts."[53] On June 13, theUnited States Senate narrowly rejected an effort to block part of deal and approved the sale of $500 million worth of American weapons. The approval of the deal was opposed by various lawmakers, including GOP SenatorsMike Lee, Rand Paul,Todd Young andDean Heller, along with most Democratic Senators who voted to advance the measure in order to block the sale, citing thehuman rights violations by Saudi Arabia in the Yemeni Civil War andhuman rights violations at home.[54][55] Among the senators who voted against moving the measure to block the sale were DemocratsJoe Donnelly,Claire McCaskill,Bill Nelson,Joe Manchin andMark Warner along with Republicans including Majority LeaderMitch McConnell,Bob Corker andJohn McCain.[56]
In August 2018, a laser-guidedMark 82 bomb sold by the U.S. and built byLockheed Martin was used in the Saudi-led coalitionairstrike on a school bus inYemen, which killed 51 people, including 40 children.[57]Following the civilian casualties in Yemen by the airstrikes conducted by Saudi Arabia, the U.S. suggested puttinggun cameras on Saudi and Emirati warplanes to see how strikes were being conducted, but the proposal was rejected by both the Saudis and the UAE. U.S. military officials posted at the coalition war room inRiyadh brought to notice that inexperienced Saudi pilots were flying the warplanes at high altitude to avoid enemy fire, but in turn were putting civilians in danger due to inaccurate bombings.[58]
Through October 2018, the Saudi government had purchased $14.5 billion of arms.[59]
During 2018, Trump made several assertions of how many American jobs the deal would create, including as many as 1,000,000.[60]
In August of 2022 Biden's State Department approved $3 billion sale of Patriot missiles to Saudi Arabia and $2.2 billion to the United Arab Emirates despite pledging in 2019 campaign to make Saudi Arabia a pariah.[61]
In August 2024, the Biden administration partially lifted the three-year ban on US arms sales to Saudi Arabia.[62]
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