U.S. President Joe Biden holds a meeting with White House officials and baby formula manufacturers, as part of the U.S. response to the ongoing baby formula shortage, in an auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, U.S. June 1, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

JNS.org – The Biden administration authorized two large-scale defense sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, to help defend against threats from Iran, The Associated Press reported.

The more than $5 billion in missile defense and related sales come after US President Joe Biden’s trip to the Middle East last month, which included meetings with a number of regional officials and leaders in Saudi Arabia.

The new sales include $3 billion for Patriot anti-missile missiles for Saudi Arabia to defend against Houthi missile attacks, and $2.2 billion for high-altitude missile defense THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missiles for the UAE.

In a notice informing Congress of the sale, the State Department said, “The proposed sale will improve the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s capability to meet current and future threats by replenishing its dwindling stock of PATRIOT GEM-T missiles.”

“These missiles are used to defend the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s borders against persistent Houthi cross-border unmanned aerial system and ballistic missile attacks on civilian sites and critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia,” the statement continued.