US To Lift Ban On Sales Of Offensive Weapons To Saudi Arabia: Report

US President Joe Biden led administration has decided to lift ban on American sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia. This marks the reversal of a three-year-old policy to pressure the kingdom to wind down the Yemen war.

According to the Reuters report, the US State Department was lifting its suspension on certain transfers of air-to-ground munitions to Saudi Arabia.

The report quoting a senior official stated, "We will consider new transfers on a typical case-by-case basis consistent with the Conventional Arms Transfer Policy.”

Earlier, the administration briefed Congress this week on its decision to lift the ban, a congressional aide said, as per the report.

The report mentioned the sales could resume as early as next week.

The US government was moving ahead on Friday afternoon with notifications about a sale, it mentioned.

"The Saudis have met their end of the deal, and we are prepared to meet ours," the report quoted a senior Biden administration official as saying.

It stated as per US law, major international weapons deals must be reviewed by members of Congress before they are made final.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers have questioned the provision of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia in recent years, citing issues including the toll on civilians of its campaign in Yemen and a range of human rights concerns.

However, the opposition has softened amid turmoil in the Middle East following Hamas' deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel and because of changes in the conduct of the campaign in Yemen.

Since March 2022 - when the Saudis and Houthis entered into a UN-led truce - there have not been any Saudi airstrikes in Yemen and cross-border fire from Yemen into the kingdom has largely stopped, the report mentioned.

Yemen's war is seen as one of several proxy battles between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Houthis ousted a Saudi-backed government from Sanaa in late 2014 and have been at war against a Saudi-led military alliance since 2015, a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and left 80 percent of Yemen's population dependent on humanitarian aid, the report mentioned.

Biden adopted the tougher stance on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia in 2021, citing its campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, which has inflicted heavy civilian casualties.