US Unblocking Offensive Arms Transfers to Saudi Arabia After 3 Years

A Royal Saudi Air Force F-15SA, assigned to the Royal Saudi Air Force Weapons School, lands in preparation of Red Flag-Nellis 22-2 at Nellis Air Force Base, near Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 1, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by William R. Lewis/Public Domain)

The Biden administration has lifted a ban on transfers of some air-to-ground munitions to Saudi Arabia, reversing a policy that it put in place at the start of President Joe Biden’s  presidency.

“The Department is lifting its suspension on certain transfers of air-to-ground munitions to Saudi Arabia,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times. “We will consider new transfers on a typical case-by-case basis consistent with the Conventional Arms Transfer Policy.”

The U.S. government had provided offensive strike weapons to Saudi Arabia throughout the Obama and Trump administrations. Those weapons had aided a Saudi-led coalition intervening on behalf of the internationally recognized Yemeni government in its battle against the Houthis terrorist group for control of the country.

Biden halted all U.S. support for Saudi-led offensive operations in Yemen, including offensive weapons transfers to Saudi Arabia, in February of 2021, just days after entering the White House. He announced the policy shift on Feb. 5, 2021, as he expressed dismay over “a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe” that’s created an “unendurable devastation” for the people of Yemen. He further insisted that his administration would replace this offensive support with renewed diplomacy.

By April 2022, the belligerents in the Yemeni internal conflict had brokered a temporary cease-fire in Yemen that they’ve since stretched into a more lasting peace.

The State Department spokesperson said the Biden administration decided to lift the arms ban against Saudi Arabia “on the basis of continued Saudi adherence to the conditions of the April 2022 truce in Yemen, despite its formal expiration after six months.”

The spokesperson also credited Saudi Arabia with improving its civilian harm mitigation processes over the past three years, partly because of its work with U.S. trainers and advisers.

“As with all countries, we will continue to monitor Saudi compliance with the Law of Armed Conflict and adherence to civilian harm mitigation principles and best practices and reassess any proposed or pending arms transfers if we see credible reports of abuses or violations,” the State Department spokesperson said.

While the cease-fire within Yemen has held, the Houthis have turned their attention outward, in recent months, toward the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip. The Yemeni terror group has launched missile and drone attacks at Israel, declaring solidarity with Hamas. The Houthis have also attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea that they believe to be supporting or otherwise connected to Israel.

The U.S. military has responded to this pattern of Red Sea attacks, deploying warships to destroy incoming missiles, drones, and remote-controlled explosive boats that the Houthis have used to attack commercial ships. The U.S. military has also conducted numerous strikes inside Yemen to destroy suspected Houthi sites and degrade the group’s Red Sea attack capabilities. By January, the Biden administration had also placed the Houthis back on the U.S. Specially Designated Global Terrorist list, reversing a decision to take them off of that terror list in 2021.

The State Department spokesperson said the Saudi government has helped to prevent the current Middle East conflicts from escalating and has “met their end of the deal” in terms of enabling the Yemen peace process since 2022.

“Meanwhile, the Houthis have proven once again to be a group intent on using terror to advance its agenda, including through targeting civilian shipping in the Red Sea,” the State Department spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the United States will continue to strike Houthi targets and sanction the group and that “this pressure will continue to build over the coming weeks.”

Jackson Richman contributed to this article.