Last week, Saudi Arabia conducted unprecedented drills with its rival Iran in the Sea of Oman in a sign of warming relations between the regional powers. Following the announcement, Washington approved a massive arms sale to the Gulf Kingdom.
On Thursday, the US announced it had approved the sale of 1,000 Tube-launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) missiles to Saudi Arabia. Raytheon will be the contractor for the $440 million deal.
Washington’s press release about the deal came after Saudi Arabia said it conducted joint naval exercises with Iran on Wednesday.
“The Royal Saudi Naval Forces had recently concluded a joint naval exercise with the Iranian Naval Forces alongside other countries in the Sea of Oman,” a Saudi military official told AFP.
While the drills signal a strengthening relationship between Gulf powers, Washington providing a huge shipment of weapons to Riyadh as it also backs Israeli strikes on Iran could scuttle the steps towards a more stable Saudi-Iranian relationship. […]
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