US Agrees to Sell New Load of Missiles to UEA

The sale includes 60 Patriot missiles and 100 Patriot guided enhanced missiles, as well as other military equipment, the US Department of Defense said in a statement, Sputnik reported.

"This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of an important ally which has been, and continued to be, a force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East," the statement added.

The Pentagon's statement over the recent arms deal with the UEA also stressed that, "these missiles will not alter the basic military balance in the region." However considering the shared position between the US and the [Persian] Gulf states on Iran, its hard to believe that this is not the intention.

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen since March 2015 to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 14,000 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.

Despite Riyadh's claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi bombers are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

According to several reports, the Saudi-led air campaign against Yemen has drove the impoverished country towards humanitarian disaster. The conflict also decimated much of the country's infrastructure and services, including schools, factories and hospitals.

Also, approximately seven million Yemenis are faced with famine as a result of the conflict, but also the ongoing naval blockades imposed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The United States often comes under fire for its sales of arms to parties embedded in the military campaign in Yemen instigated by Saudi Arabia.

Back in February at an arms exhibition in Abu Dhabi, the UAE also secured arms deals worth just over US$5 billion, which included a US$740-million deal with US arms giant, Raytheon. The UAE has constituted the US' second largest arms export marker from 2012 to 2016, coming in just behind Saudi Arabia.

In December 2016, the Barack Obama administration decided to act in its final moments and banned precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia. The ban was however, overturned by President Donald Trump soon after he took office.