US to lift ban on offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, sources say

The Biden administration has decided to lift a ban on US sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday, reversing a three-year-old policy to pressure the kingdom to wind down the Yemen war.

The administration briefed Congress this week on its decision to lift the ban, a congressional aide said. One source said sales could resume as early as next week. The US government was moving ahead on Friday afternoon with notifications about a sale, a person briefed on the matter said.

"The Saudis have met their end of the deal, and we are prepared to meet ours, returning these cases regular order through appropriate congressional notification and consultation," a senior Biden administration official said.

Saudi-Houthi war

Since March 2022 - when the Saudis and Houthis entered into a UN-led truce - there have not been any Saudi airstrikes in Yemen, and cross-border fire from Yemen into the Kingdom has largely stopped, the administration official said.

Biden had adopted the tougher stance on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia in 2021, citing the kingdom's campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, which has inflicted heavy civilian casualties.

Yemen's war is seen as one of several proxy battles between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis ousted a Saudi-backed government from Sanaa in late 2014 and have been at war against a Saudi-led military alliance since 2015, a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and left 80% of Yemen's population dependent on humanitarian aid.