US Approves Over $16 Billion In Arms Sales To Gulf Allies After Iranian Attacks

Last Updated:March 20, 2026, 01:49 IST

The US State Department approved more than $8 billion in air defence systems and related materiel, including drones, air-to-air missiles and F-16 fighter jet munitions, to the UAE.

The US State Department on Thursday approved potential arms sales to the UAE, Kuwait and Jordan, worth more than $16.5 billion, amid the war in Iran. The sales followed Iran’s attacks on energy infrastructure in response to Israeli attacks on its gas facilities, marking the biggest escalation in the nearly four-week war.

The State Department approved more than $8 billion in air defence systems and related materiel, including drones, air-to-air missiles and F-16 fighter jet munitions, to the UAE. The UAE received approval to buy systems designed to defeat small, unmanned aircraft and a long-range discrimination radar that tracks ballistic missile systems.

The US also approved $8 billion in missile defence and radar systems to Kuwait and $70.5 million of aircraft and munitions support to Jordan.

Another $6 billion in sales to the three countries was approved but did not require congressional notification because they involved adjustments to previously approved packages or purely commercial sales, the Associated Press reported, citing a State Department official.

Iran responded to the massive US-Israeli air campaign launched late last month with barrages of missiles and drones that have caused deaths and damage in various Gulf countries, which have been forced to expend significant military resources to counter attacks.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has “determined and provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale" of the military equipment, thereby waiving the requirement that Congress give its approval, according to notices sent to the US Congress.

The State Department said the principal contractors in the sales will include RTX Corporation, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin Corporation.

Iran caused extensive damage to the largest gas plant in Qatar, targeted a refinery in Saudi Arabia, forced the UAE to shut gas facilities and set off fires at two Kuwaiti refineries in response to an Israeli attack on its own gas facilities.

The Iranian attacks drew a furious response from US President Donald Trump, who said Israel would not make any more attacks on Iranian facilities in South Pars unless Iran attacked Qatar, in which case he warned that the US “will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field."

(with inputs from agencies)

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