US to sell $20b of arms to Saudi, Gulf states

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WASHINGTON, July 28 (AFP): The United States plans a series of arms deals worth at least 20 billion dollars (14.6 billion euros) with Saudi Arabia and five other oil-rich Persian Gulf states, The Washington Post reported today.
The plan also includes new 10-year military aid packages to Israel and Egypt, said the Post, citing unnamed US officials.
The deals are aimed at shoring up US allies in the Middle East and countering "a more aggressive Iran", as one administration official put it.
The arms deals, which include the sales of a variety of sophisticated weaponry, would be the largest negotiated by this administration, according to the Post.
The military assistance agreements would provide 30 billion dollars in new US aid to Israel and 13 billion to Egypt over 10 years, the paper said.
Officials said the arms sales to Saudi Arabia were expected to include air-to-air missiles as well as Joint Direct Attack Munitions