[ad_1]
As the attacks on Houthi rebels intensify, Riyadh is in an “urgent situation” as it runs out of air defense missiles, the Financial Times reported.
Saudi Arabia could be without interceptor missiles for the U.S. Patriot air defense system in the U.S. for “months,” according to a senior U.S. official quoted by the Financial Times (FT) as asking Riadh. appeal asking the allies in the region to help fill the stock.
“It’s an urgent situation,” the U.S. official said, adding that Washington supports moves to secure missiles in the Gulf countries, adding that Yemeni Houthi rebels are stepping up cross-border attacks on the kingdom.
“They can get it from other parts of the Gulf, and we’re trying to do that. The alternative may be faster [to US arms sales]”, Official as he said.
Two people who were informed about the talks between Saudi Arabia and its neighbors confirmed to the FT that Riyadh had made such requests.
“There is a shortage of interceptors. Saudi Arabia has asked for loans from its friends, but there have not been many, ”one person said in the post.
A second person told the FT that Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman was at the summit of the Riyadh Cooperation Council in Riyadh in December and then that the kingdom was in direct contact with the nations of the region.
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
A third U.S. official said Houthi rebels, who are aligned with Iran and control northern Yemen, have stepped up attacks on the kingdom last year, with 375 cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia, many of them on oil infrastructure, airports and cities.
“Responding to these attacks using these types of interceptors means that they will have a faster burning rate than previously anticipated,” the official told FT.
“That is something we have to deal with, and the answer to that is more interceptors, and the answer is ultimately the diplomatic solution to the crisis in Yemen.”
US-Arab relations
The situation is the latest test of US-Arab relations in the wake of the October 2018 assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by the administration of President Joe Biden in Istanbul, Saudi officials.
In February last year, Biden said he would end US support for “offensive operations” in Yemen, including “significant arms sales” in Saudi Arabia.
But a few months later, his administration accepted selling $ 650 million worth of air-to-air missiles to the kingdom.
[ad_2]
Source link
