Joe Biden’s administration has signalled a fresh look at US policy in the Middle East, announcing reviews of massive arms packages for the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia as well as envisioning a slow return to diplomacy with Iran.
On his first full day on the job, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) that his top priorities would include addressing the catastrophe for civilians in Yemen, where US ally Saudi Arabia has been bombarding Iranian-linked Houthi rebels.
“We’ve seen a campaign, led by Saudi Arabia, that has also contributed to what is by many estimates the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today, and that’s saying something,” Mr Blinken said in Washington.
“It’s vitally important even in the midst of this crisis that we do everything we can to get humanitarian assistance to the people of Yemen, who are in desperate need,” he said of the country where 80 per cent of the 29 million people rely on aid to survive.
The State Department said it was temporarily pausing sales authorised by former president Donald Trump including munitions to Saudi Arabia and a $US23bn ($29.8bn) package of cutting-edge F-35 jets to the United Arab Emirates. Mr Blinken said that a review was routine for any new administration to ensure that a sale “advances our strategic objectives”.
The UAE is to be the first Arab nation to receive the versatile stealth-capable fighter-jets after it agreed to recognise Israel — a normalisation that Mr Blinken says he supports.
Read the article by Shaun Tandon in The Australian.