Trump pushes through $8bn weapons sale to Saudi Royals

Mohammed bin Salman Donald Trump

US president Trump has vetoed an attempt by Congress to kill the sale of $8.1bn of weapons to the Saudi Royal Family, stating that blocking the deal would “weaken America’s global competitiveness” and damage its relationship with the Saudi Royals, whom are currently in between rising tensions with Iran and a protracted war with the Yemeni rebels.

Congress voted to prevent the sale over fears that the weapons would be used on civilian populations, particularly in Yemen. The Senate will attempt to override President Trump’s veto, but do not have the required majority to do so.

Crown Prince, and defacto leader, Mohammed bin Salman, launched a military campaign against the Yemeni rebels four years ago in what was aimed to be a “decisive military action”, which then spiralled into a full-blow war. MBS’s close ally, Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the leader of the UAE, has recently pulled his troops out of Yemen, after reportedly finding the Saudi-Yemen war’s humanitarian crisis to be “bad PR for the Emirates”.

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