The Biden administration has transferred a “significant number of Patriot antimissile interceptors to Saudi Arabia within the past month,” the Wall Street Journal reports, fulfilling an “urgent request for a resupply” by Saudi Arabia.
The transfer of Patriot antimissile interceptors comes as tensions between allies Saudi Arabia and the United States are elevated over the war in Yemen, human rights issues, and oil prices. According to the report in the WSJ, the transfers “sought to ensure that Saudi Arabia is adequately supplied with the defensive munitions it needs to fend off drone and missile attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen.”
The report, which cited unnamed U.S. officials, added that the the interceptors and other munitions sent to Saudi Arabia were taken from U.S. stockpiles elsewhere in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, a statement from the White House strongly condemned the recent attack by Yemen’s Houthi group on Saudi Arabia, calling them “terrorist attacks with enabling by Iran.”
“We condemn the Houthi attacks over the last 48 hours against civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. These attacks reportedly targeted water treatment facilities as well as oil and natural gas infrastructure. The Houthis launch these terrorist attacks with enabling by Iran, which supplies them with missile and UAV components, training, and expertise. This is done in violation of UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting the import of weapons into Yemen. Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni Government have endorsed multiple UN calls for ceasefires and de-escalation over the last year.”
The statement added: “The Houthis have rejected these calls, responding instead with new offensives in Yemen and terrorist acts, such as those launched against Saudi Arabia last night. It is time to bring this war to a close, but that can only happen if the Houthis agree to cooperate with the United Nations and its envoy working on a step-by-step a process to de-escalate the conflict. The United States stands fully behind those efforts, and we will continue to fully support our partners in the defense of their territory from Houthi attacks. We call on the international community to do the same.”
