The United States has sent a “significant” amount of Patriot interceptors - designed to shoot down incoming missiles - to Saudi Arabia over the past few weeks in a bid to resupply Riyadh's defense munitions amid ongoing confrontations with the armed Houthi political opposition faction in Yemen, a Wall Street Journal report has detailed.
According to the WSJ, the Patriot Interceptors are not being sent directly to Saudi Arabia from the United States. Instead, they are being moved from nearby stockpiles of other Gulf states who will receive approval, as required by United States law.
Riyadh had been asking for a resupply since late 2021, which has contributed to the strain on the two nations’ relationship. Biden administration officials stressed that the delay was not intentional but was because of high demand for the interceptors from other US allies as well as a required vetting process.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby has refused to confirm the transfer of Patriot Interceptors but stressed the importance of Saudi Arabia’s security to the United States’ interests in the area.
“We're in constant discussions with the Saudis about this, about this threat environment, and always looking for ways to continue to help them defend themselves, but I've got nothing to say with respect to that press report,” the official said Monday.
The Biden administration has been working with Saudi Arabia to strengthen their defenses against aerial attacks from Houthi forces inside of Yemen, the poorest nation in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has been dealing with an increase in Houthi rocket and drone attacks, numbering 400 last year, a source familiar with the situation told The Hill.
Houthi rockets recently hit oil production and water desalination plants owned by Aramco, the Saudi state-owned petrochemical company. The attack caused a fire at one facility and slowed oil production in another.
To date, the United States has sent Saudi Arabia over $100 billion in weapons over the past ten years. They have also sent arms to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who are also fighting alongside Riyadh against the Houthi faction in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia is one the largest oil producing nations in the world and this attempt to mend relations between Washington and Riyadh comes as crude oil prices have skyrocketed.
The current Yemeni civil war erupted in 2014 and, according to UNICEF, “remains one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, with around 23.7 million people in need of assistance[.]”
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the conflict has killed nearly a quarter million people and over 50% of the Yemeni population faces food insecurities.
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