Saudi Arabia's controversial military campaign in Yemen suffered a double blow Thursday as US lawmakers voted to block President Donald Trump's arms sales to Riyadh hours after Britain temporarily suspended similar sales. The votes were only assured this week when Republican leadership agreed to hold the sensitive roll calls on the arms sales, which critics say will aggravate the devastating war in Yemen. Germany halted all arms sales to Saudi Arabia in response to Saudi opposition columnist Jamal Khashoggi's 2018 killing and called on other EU governments to follow suit. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he hoped his vote to block the sales would "send a signal to Saudi Arabia that if you act the way you're acting, there is no space for a strategic relationship." Senator Tom Cotton, a hawk who backs Trump's policies in the Gulf, warned colleagues that Tehran would be watching the Saudi arms sales votes "for signs of resolve or weakness" by Washington.

Source: News 24 June 20, 2019 18:45 UTC