Urgent $8.6 Billion Arms Deal: How Trump’s Administration is Strengthening Middle East Defense

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The Trump administration has moved to fast-track arms sales to Middle Eastern countries totaling $8.6 billion (about 11.47 trillion KRW). With the outbreak of hostilities involving Iran increasing the need for regional defenses, the United States appears to be pursuing both economic and diplomatic objectives through those sales.

On the 2nd (local time), CNN, the Financial Times and other outlets cited a State Department release saying Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked an emergency to approve the sales and bypass congressional review.

The expedited packages are expected to include Patriot air-defense missiles for Israel and other key partners such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, along with Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) and Integrated Battle Command Systems (IBCS).

Rubio said he determined an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale of these defense articles and provided the detailed justification. He added that each sale serves U.S. national security interests and therefore is exempt from statutory congressional review.

The State Department said the proposed sales advance U.S. foreign policy and national security goals. Strengthening the defenses of strategic regional partners, it said, has long supported political stability and economic development in the Middle East and will continue to do so.

Since Iran launched its attacks on Feb. 28, regional governments have faced indiscriminate strikes and urgently need air-defense systems and other countermeasures.

At the same time, U.S. missile inventories have been significantly depleted, and deliveries to European partners are likely to be delayed. The Pentagon has told several European countries — including the U.K., Poland, Lithuania and Estonia — that shipments of certain missiles could face substantial delays, the Financial Times reported.

Meanwhile, behind-the-scenes talks between the U.S. and Iran over a cease-fire continued. The U.S. received a new 14-point cease-fire proposal from Iran that would end the war within 30 days, instead of the two-month timeline the U.S. had proposed.

President Trump said he would soon review the offer but added he found it hard to imagine accepting it, asserting that Iran has not yet paid an adequate price for actions it has taken over the past 47 years.