WASHINGTON: Three US senators on Wednesday launched a bid to block the sale of top-of-the-line F-35 jets to the United Arab Emirates, voicing concern over the deal seen as a reward for the nation’s recognition of Israel. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week formally informed Congress of the sale, hailing the UAE normalisation with Israel and casting the sale as part of efforts against mutual adversary Iran. The UAE had long requested the F-35s, which have stealth capacity and can be deployed for precision bombing, intelligence gathering and air-to-air combat. Israel had considered its own F-35 fleet to be vital to its own strategic edge over Arab nations but dropped its opposition to the US sale as it saw the advantage of normalised ties. Congress last year tried to block a major arms package for Saudi Arabia and the UAE but failed to muster the two-thirds majority to override Trump’s vetoes.

Source: Libya Today November 19, 2020 00:22 UTC