On Wednesday, US senators announced their intention to introduce separate legislation to halt efforts by President Donald Trump's administration to sell drones and advanced weapons worth more than $ 23 billion to the UAE.
Democrats Bob Menendez, Chris Murphy and Republican Representative Rand Paul said they would present four decisions to counter Trump's plan to sell the UAE Reaper drones, F-35 fighters and air-to-air missiles.
Lawmakers said the Trump administration, which has sought to accelerate the sale of advanced weapons, circumvented the regular Congressional review process, revealing that the State and Defense departments also refused to respond to inquiries about how the administration would handle national security risks associated with the proposed sales.
The members explained that the weapons used include the most advanced combat aircraft in the world, more than 14 thousand bombs and lethal ammunition, and the second largest sale of US drones to one country.
This huge deal may change the balance of power in the Middle East, and members of Congress expressed their annoyance at the administration’s attempt to speed up the deal, especially since it did not inform them officially about it until last week.
Many lawmakers also fear whether the UAE will use these weapons in attacks that would harm civilians in Yemen, whose civil war is one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.
Senator Chris Murphy said that the UAE had failed to comply with international law in Libya and Yemen, and had violated agreements to sell arms, adding that a deal of this size should not be concluded during the power transfer period and Congress should take steps to stop it.