Trump administration bypasses Congress to approve major weapons deals for key regional allies as conflict with Iran enters ninth week
The administration of Donald Trump invoked emergency powers on May 1 to bypass congressional review and approve more than $8.6 billion in military sales to Middle Eastern partners, including advanced precision munitions and missile defense systems for Israel, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that emergency conditions required immediate action, sidestepping the standard congressional notification process mandated under the Arms Export Control Act. The law typically grants lawmakers time to review major foreign weapons sales and raise objections or block proposed deals.
The State Department’s announcements on Friday came as the United States and Israel’s war with Iran reached nine weeks, and more than three weeks after a fragile ceasefire took effect.
According to the announcements, the approved sales are intended to strengthen partners’ self-defense capabilities without altering the regional military balance.
The largest portion of the package will go to Qatar, which is set to receive Patriot air and missile defense systems valued at approximately $4.01 billion. The package includes 200 PAC-2 Guidance Enhanced Missiles and 300 PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement missiles, along with spare parts, repair services, and technical support. Qatar also secured $992.4 million worth of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) II all-up-rounds.
The United Arab Emirates was approved to receive $147.6 million in APKWS guidance sections and related equipment.
Israel was approved for $992.4 million in APKWS systems and will receive 10,000 APKWS II rounds as part of the deal.
Kuwait was approved to purchase an integrated battle command system valued at $2.5 billion.
Principal contractors for the systems include BAE Systems for APKWS, and Lockheed Martin along with RTX Corporation for the Patriot systems. Northrop Grumman, RTX, and Lockheed Martin are the primary contractors for Kuwait’s integrated battle command system.
The APKWS is a laser-guided rocket system based on the Hydra 2.75-inch rocket, designed to counter the growing use of drones and precision weapons, which have been prominent in the Iran conflict. The system is described as a cost-effective option against small targets such as drones and boats.
On Jan. 30, weeks before the conflict began, more than $15 billion in arms sales were approved for Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28 in an operation referred to by Washington as Operation Epic Fury. Iran responded with retaliatory strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting U.S. bases. The conflict has involved ongoing missile exchanges, cyber operations, and proxy engagements across the Middle East.
