The New York Times quoted people familiar with the matter on December 21 as saying that in recent weeks, Saudi Arabia has pressured U.S. lawmakers and aides to relax their aggressive ban on Saudi Arabia. According to a U.S.**, Biden is preparing to ease restrictions, which is related to the success of the Saudi peace talks with Yemen's Houthis, but he did not say when the matter will be implemented. The report said that once Biden believes that the move is not in the interests of the United States, the move may still be reversed.
According to the report, Saudi Arabia is by far the largest buyer of the United States. Biden imposed the ban two years ago, restricting the main offensive to the Saudis, when there were concerns that the United States was being used by the Saudis against Yemeni civilians. Among the transactions that were put on hold by the ban, there was a value of 4$7.8 billion in arms sales of precision-guided munitions.
Saudi armed forces hold exercises British News** "Middle East Watch".
In March 2022, Saudi Arabia and the Houthis reached a truce brokered by the United States and the United Nations. Currently, Saudi Arabia and the Houthis are working to consolidate the peace agreement and formalize the truce between the two sides. A U.S.** told CNN that the U.S. has made it clear to Saudi Arabia that the U.S. ban on the sale of certain categories** will be lifted when the Saudis are no longer involved in the Yemen conflict. "This lull in Yemen has now lasted almost two years and is unprecedented ......," the ** saidWe are prepared to properly consult with Congress to bring things back to normal order. ”
The New York Times, citing the United States and Saudi Arabia, revealed that in recent weeks, Saudi Arabia has pressured U.S. lawmakers and aides to ease their ban on selling offensive. They all said the reason given by Saudi Arabia was that they needed to protect the southern border with Yemen in case of future conflict. The Saudis also said that as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict rages, they must prepare for the escalating regional situation.
The U.S.** did not say when the sales ban would be eased. The report notes that if Biden believes that it is not in the interests of the United States to allow offensive ** to flow into Saudi Arabia, the move could be reversed.
Biden's proposed policy shift is likely to be opposed by some members of Congress. In October 2022, when Saudi Arabia joined forces with major oil producers such as Russia to slash oil production, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee announced that it would suspend anything other than Saudi Arabia's existing defense system, saying the ban would continue "until Saudi Arabia changes its stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict."
The New York Times noted that the news came as the Houthis significantly scaled up their operations against ships heading for Israel, forcing several international shipping giants to announce the suspension of routes through the Red Sea in favor of longer routes around the Cape of Good Hope. The Red Sea is one of the world's busiest shipping routes, with around 12% of the world's shipping passing through it.
On December 18, local time, the United States announced the formation of a maritime coalition called "Prosperity Guard" to deter, and the public list included the United States, Britain, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain. None of them share a border with the Red Sea, only Bahrain is located in the Middle East, and no major Middle Eastern power openly participates in this alliance.
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