Biden to reassess military deals with the UAE

Identical reports came from different sources confirmed that US President Joe Biden is about to reassess military deals with the UAE.

The UAE has signed an agreement with the United States to buy 50 F-35 fighters and 18 armed drones, just about an hour before President Joe Biden takes office.

Although the UAE and the United States were working to sign the agreement before Biden took office, the new president said he would review it.

The UAE has long expressed an interest in acquiring Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth fighters.

Abu Dhabi was promised a chance to buy it in a side agreement when it agreed to normalize relations with Israel last August.

One of the sources said that the two parties signed the agreement about an hour before Biden’s inauguration.

The agreement allowed the UAE to accept the schedule for the delivery of combat aircraft, which was subject to negotiation between the two sides and formalized the purchase order.

The sources also said that the UAE prepared the agreement papers more than a week ago. Moreover, the UAE and the United States had hoped one day to finalize the agreement in December.

But the timing of the delivery, the cost of the aircraft, technology, training and other matters related to the deal prolonged the negotiations.

The F-35s are a large component of a $23 billion deal to sell high-tech weapons produced by General Atomics, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies Corp. to the UAE, which was announced this fall.

The sources reported that the UAE government also signed a separate agreement to purchase 18 drones–the second-largest deal of its kind concluded by the United States.

The sources said the deadline for delivery of the F-35 fighter jets has yet to be confirmed.

But the initial proposal the United States sent to the UAE was in 2027.

A few days ago, Human Rights Watch called on the Biden administration to stop arms sales to the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, the organization highlighted the crimes committed by the UAE and Saudi Arabia against civilians in Yemen as part of their years-long war.

And she stressed the need to stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to have a positive impact in Yemen.