{"id":7901,"date":"2026-07-16T17:35:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T17:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/16\/us-approves-nearly-2bn-in-weapons-sale-to-saudi-arabia\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T17:35:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T17:35:40","slug":"us-approves-nearly-2bn-in-weapons-sale-to-saudi-arabia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/16\/us-approves-nearly-2bn-in-weapons-sale-to-saudi-arabia\/","title":{"rendered":"US approves nearly $2bn in weapons sale to Saudi Arabia"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><em>The sale intends to bolster Saudi air defence systems as the kingdom risks escalation with the Iran-backed Houthis.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>\u2060The\u2060 US Department of State has \u2060approved a potential $1.96bn weapons sale to Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<p>Announced on Wednesday, the foreign military sale, estimated at nearly $2bn, aims to bolster Saudi Arabia\u2019s air defences as the US-Israel war on Iran ramps up.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2026\/7\/16\/yemen-is-edging-closer-to-renewed-confrontation\">Yemen is edging closer to renewed confrontation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/7\/14\/leading-houthi-threatens-siege-on-saudi-arabia-after-yemen-airport-attack\">Leading Houthi threatens \u2018siege\u2019 on Saudi Arabia after Yemen airport attack<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/7\/14\/can-gulf-countries-defend-themselves-against-renewed-iranian-attacks\">Can Gulf countries defend themselves against renewed Iranian attacks?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cThis proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a Major non-NATO Ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf Region,\u201d the State Department said in a news release.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2060principal contractor will be \u2060BAE Systems.<\/p>\n<p>Among the weapons the Gulf kingdom seeks are up to 20,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems and their warheads, which the US Navy\u2019s website describes as \u201can inexpensive way to destroy targets while limiting collateral damage in close combat\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe proposed sale will improve Saudi Arabia\u2019s capability to deter current and future threats by strengthening its homeland defense, and improving interoperability with US forces, and other regional and NATO forces,\u201d the State Department release said.<\/p>\n<p>The move comes as Saudi Arabia appears to be on the brink of renewed war with Yemen\u2019s Iran-backed Houthis after they fired missiles at an airport in the southern Saudi city of Abha on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>The Houthi attack followed air strikes that hit Sanaa airport, diverting a flight transporting a Houthi delegation returning from the Iranian supreme leader\u2019s funeral. The Houthis blamed Riyadh for the attack.<\/p>\n<p>\u200cYemen\u2019s Houthi \u2060leader, \u2060Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said on Thursday that all \u2060Saudi oil and other vital facilities \u2060would be targets for the group\u2019s missiles and drones if Riyadh \u200cinvolves itself in what he described as \u201ccomprehensive aggression\u201d against Yemen and moved towards escalation.<\/p>\n<p>The move also comes as ceasefire between the United States and Iran breaks down and the US ramps up its attacks, after imposing a naval blockade.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere will be no adverse impact on US Defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale,\u201d the release said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The sale intends to bolster Saudi air defence systems as the kingdom risks escalation with the Iran-backed Houthis. \u2060The\u2060 US Department of State has \u2060approved a potential $1.96bn weapons sale to Saudi Arabia. Announced on Wednesday, the foreign military sale, estimated at nearly $2bn, aims to bolster Saudi Arabia\u2019s air defences as the US-Israel war &#8230; <a title=\"US approves nearly $2bn in weapons sale to Saudi Arabia\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/16\/us-approves-nearly-2bn-in-weapons-sale-to-saudi-arabia\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about US approves nearly $2bn in weapons sale to Saudi Arabia\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7902,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}