Biden Administration Approves First Major Arms Sale To Saudi Arabia
The Biden Administration approved its first major arms sale to Saudi Arabia for 280 air-to-air missiles valued at $650 million, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
The Biden Administration approved its first major arms sale to Saudi Arabia for 280 air-to-air missiles valued at $650 million, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
While Saudi Arabia is an important partner in the Middle East, US lawmakers have criticized Riyadh for its involvement in the war in Yemen. They have refused to approve many military sales for the kingdom without assurances US equipment would not be used to kill civilians.
The Pentagon notified Congress of the sale on Thursday. If approved, the deal would be the first sale to Saudi Arabia since the Biden administration adopted a policy of selling only defensive weapons to the Gulf ally.
The State Department had approved the sale on Oct. 26, a spokesperson said, adding that the air-to-air missile sale comes after "an increase in cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia over the past year."
The sale "is fully consistent with the administration's pledge to lead with diplomacy to end the conflict in Yemen," the State Department spokesperson said in a statement. The air-to-air missiles ensure "Saudi Arabia has the means to defend itself from Iranian-backed Houthi air attacks," he said.
After the Trump administration's friendly relationship with Riyadh, the Biden administration recalculated its approach to Saudi Arabia, because of human rights concerns, but which is also one of Washington's closest allies in countering the threat posed by Iran.
Reporting by Reuters
The two fired managers are Abdolreza Bavali the head of the state TV's rolling news channel and Mehrdad Seyedmehdi the head of the state television's newsroom, aka, IRIB News Agency. Bavali was fired after “undermining” new state TV chief Payman Jebelli's "success" in changing the broadcaster's secretive approach to sensitive news and its censorship of developments that had been already leaked on social media.
The state TV, officially called the Islamic Republic of Iran's Broadcasting Organization (IRIB) operates under Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's direct supervision and its CEO is appointed by him every five years.
Jebelli’s change of approach has been observed at least during three recent developments. Unlike past practice of censoring sensitive news about regime officials, IRIB broadcast the video of an IRGC general being slapped in the face during his inauguration ceremony as the governor general of East Azarbaijan Province. The broadcaster also covered a controversy about the appointment of a son-in-law of Tehran's mayor as his deputy and the nationwide disruption of an electronic system in Iran’s gas stations.
Jebelli took pride in bringing about the changes ina special edition of the state TV's daily newspaper Jam-e Jam which dedicated several pages in which media experts and professionals praised his performance. Subsequently, Bavali released an audio that undermined Jebelli's performance and said what he did was nothing new.
Bavali later sent out another audio clip in which he said Jebelli was infuriated after he listened to the first audio file. He also said that he was not able to convince Jebelli that he was right, and he did not mean to undermine Jebelli's decision. He added that he knew he was going to be replaced sooner or later.
Mehrdad Seyedmehdi was fired after he undermined the importance of broadcasting the news about the gas stations in an October 31 tweet in which he said there were more important developments on that day to be covered by the network.
Meanwhile, Seyedmehdi addressed Iran International in another tweet on 1 November and said the change of management at the Iranian state TV was "a family matter."
The Iran International report had assessed the development as a move to enforce Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's new media strategy, which has been trumpeted, but few know what exactly it is. Khabar online in its assessment of the development, which was released as a video report, called it "The state TV chief's Overnight onslaught against the 30-year-old system of news dissemination" at the organization.
According to Khabar Online, the change that was made overnight on November 2 was expected since Jebelli took office in late September. The report opined that "now the system is unified and is totally under Jebelli's control. The report added that the new state TV Chief can apply his own development plan which will turn the national broadcaster into "a single news dissemination system."
Khabar Online further explained that the offices of the political deputy, the state TV newsroom, and the rolling news channel will be merged to create one single organization that puts an end to the three organization's separate operations.
Jebelli's declared mission is to return the nation's lost trust in the IRIB. The Broadcaster has been losing its viewers since 2009 and particularly after the 2017 presidential election and the latest poll conducted in Iran said the state TV's popularity dropped by another 15 percent between March and September 2021.
Major-General Hossein Salami told crowds outside the former embassy that the US had not accepted its defeat by the Iranian people, 42 years after the 444-day confinement of its diplomats, embassy staff and soldiers.
November 4 marks both the National Day of the Fight against Global Arrogance – the US – as well as National Student Day and government-organized rallies are held to mark the occasion.
President Ebrahim Raisi (Raeesi), attending a rally while touring Semnan province, accused the US of "70 years of hostility towards Iranian people,” referring to the US-backed coup of 1953 that overthrew prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh and restored the Shah.
Raisi insisted that Iran remained committed to securing the lifting of all US ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions in talks with world powers in Vienna aimed at restoring Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement.
In his speech at the former US embassy, Salami highlighted Iran’s charge, relayed by state media November 3, that the US on October 23 tried to seize an Iranian oil shipment in the Sea of Oman, only to be thwarted by the IRGC. The US, which threatens punitive action against buyers of Iranian oil under ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions, has given a different account of the incident.
Salami charged the US with "supporting terrorists in some regions and international oil theft in others.” The IRGC commander described Iran as the "security anchor of the region" and advised its neighbors not to "seek help for security from those who are unable to secure their own security."
A resolution read at the end of the November 4 commemorations around the country proclaimed that “the powerful and anti- global arrogance nation of Iran” had “zero trust in domineering powers headed by the terrorist and murderous US regime". The resolution called for the lifting of all sanctions, verification this had taken place, and guarantees to Iran that the US would not again abandon international agreements it signed. It also blamed the US and Israel for the recent cyberattack on the distribution of subsidized gasoline at filling stations, although Iranian officials have said they have no forensic evidence.
Last year, events for the November 4 commemorations were cancelled due to the pandemic but this year rallies are being held in city squares and other outdoor venues with attendees encouraged to follow public-health protocols. Media photos and footage have shown participants, many of whom are not wearing masks, mingling closely.
Those attending the rally outside the former US embassy, Alef news reported, were treated to a theatrical tribunal judging the “murderous leaders” of the world, with “US, Israeli and British murderers” ending up in jail.
