US distances itself from Saudi Arabia as White House mulls arms restrictions, Khashoggi sanctions
The Biden administration is recalibrating its relationship with Saudi Arabia, one of the United States’ closest allies in the Middle East.
A State Department official reportedly told congress earlier today that it will be announcing new sanctions on Saudi Arabia in response to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The Biden administration also declassified an intelligence report which stated that the killing of Jamal Khashoggi was approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the leader of Saudi Arabia. In declassifying the report, President Biden reversed former President Trump’s decision to refuse to release the report in defiance of a 2019 law.
Biden’s administration is also considering limiting future military sales to Saudi Arabia to only “defensive” weapons, according to a Reuters report.
The decision over arms sales to Saudi Arabia comes in light of Saudi Arabia’s involvement in Yemen’s civil war, which has caused a severe humanitarian crisis in the country.
A US State Department spokesperson reportedly said today that “our focus is on ending the conflict in Yemen even as we ensure Saudi Arabia has everything it needs to defend its territory and its people,” adding Biden has pledged to end U.S. military support for the Saudi’s campaign against the Houthis.”
Four sources familiar with the administration told Reuters that officials are assessing the array of military equipment and training which is sold to the Saudis to determine what is defensive, which would be allowed, and what is offensive.