The United States will resume sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia.
With this decision, Washington ends the years-long suspension caused by the kingdom's bloody operations in Yemen, AFP reported.
With Saudi Arabia once again seen as a key player for the United States as the war in Gaza enters its tenth month, the State Department said it would return to arms sales "on a regular basis with appropriate notification and consultation with Congress."
"Saudi Arabia remains a close strategic partner of the United States, and we look forward to strengthening that partnership," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.
President Joe Biden took office in 2021 promising a new approach to Saudi Arabia that emphasized human rights, and immediately announced that the administration would send only "defensive" weapons to the longtime US partner.
The move comes after thousands of civilians, including children, are believed to have died in Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen as part of the campaign against Iran-backed Houthi rebels who have seized much of the country.
However, geopolitical considerations have changed significantly since then. In early 2022, the United Nations, with U.S. support, brokered a ceasefire that has largely held.
Since the truce, "there has not been a single Saudi airstrike in Yemen, and cross-border shelling from Yemen into Saudi Arabia has largely ceased," Patel said.
"Since then, the Saudis have fulfilled their part of the agreement and we are ready to fulfill ours," Patel said. | BGNES
