The Trump administration has sent a notice to Congress about a potential $1 billion sale of drones and precision-guided weapons to Morocco, Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
According to the report, the deal has been worked on for several months, but it is unclear whether it is related to the recent US-brokered agreement between Morocco and Israel to normalise ties. While the State Department has reportedly authorised the sale of unmanned drones, there is no confirmed information concerning the weapons.
A similar deal, however, was pursued by the Trump administration recently, as the White House is pushing for a $23 billion arms sale to the UAE, following the Abraham Accords signed in September. The deal fell short of obtaining enough votes in the Senate, but the White House is determined to complete it. The Israeli government announced in October it had withdrawn its objections against the US sale of F-35 jets to Abu Dhabi after receiving guarantees its quantitative military advantage in the region would be secured.
Reconciliation between Morocco and Israel has come as part of a broader plan by the Trump administration to establish peace in the tense region. While four countries - UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco - have agreed to re-establish ties with Israel, Washington fully expects Saudi Arabia to follow suit. Trump's aide Jared Kushner has said that full normalisation between Israel and the Kingdom is "inevitable".
The efforts have been strongly denounced by the Palestinian authorities, along with Iran and Turkey.
