The U.S. will halt arms shipments to Europe due to the war in Iran – FT
2 May 10:12
The United States has warned its European allies, including the United Kingdom, Poland, Lithuania, and Estonia, of significant delays in arms deliveries, the Financial Times (FT) reported late on Saturday, May 2, citing nine sources, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
This is directly linked to the fact that the U.S. is urgently trying to replenish arsenals depleted by its war with Iran, the article states.
According to two of the publication’s sources, the delays will affect ammunition for the NASAMS and HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, as well as other missile systems. Similar measures are being discussed regarding Asian allies, including Japan and South Korea. The Pentagon told the FT that it is “carefully evaluating” new requests for equipment from allies, as well as cases of arms transfers to ensure “alignment with operational needs.”
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“Bad news” for Ukraine
As the Financial Times notes, warnings of significant delays in Washington’s fulfillment of its commitments have become “bad news” for Kyiv. An unnamed senior Ukrainian official told the publication that the country, which has been defending itself against Russian military aggression for five years, has faced delays in U.S. arms deliveries since the start of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran.
U.S. allies and partners using the NASAMS system include Taiwan, Norway, Finland, Spain, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Indonesia, Australia, Hungary, Ukraine, Denmark, Qatar, and Oman. The HIMARS system is used by 14 U.S. partners, including Ukraine, Poland, and Estonia.
The U.S. approved $8.6 billion in arms sales to its allies in the Middle East
Amid delays in arms deliveries to European partners, the U.S. State Department simultaneously approved the export of arms and military services to four of Washington’s Middle Eastern allies — Israel, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — totaling over 8.6 billion euros. This was reported on the State Department’s website on the evening of May 1, local time.
According to the published data, the largest package—worth $4 billion—is intended for Qatar. Arms sales worth $2.5 billion have been approved for Kuwait, Israel will purchase approximately $1 billion worth of arms from the U.S., and the UAE will purchase approximately $150 million worth.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump invoked an emergency procedure that allows it to bypass mandatory congressional approval of such transactions, Reuters reports. As specified, Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified this decision as an “urgent necessity” due to the military conflict with Iran. Trump officially notified Congress of the end of this military conflict.
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