MANAMA (Dispatches) – The Bahraini regime on Friday welcomed a decision of the U.S. Senate that rejected to block on an arms sale worth around 300 million U.S. dollars to the kingdom.
The Bahraini Foreign Affairs Ministry said the U.S. Senate's decision reflects the strong ties between the two nations.
U.S. Senator Rand Paul managed to secure a vote to proceed with a resolution to block the sale of weapons to Bahrain, which is a member of the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthis in Yemen.
However, on Thursday, the White House issued a veto threat against the Bahrain resolution, saying the sales of 120 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System pods and 110 Army Tactical Missile System pods are intended to defend Bahrain.
Bahrain is home to the Fifth Fleet that has over 7,800 U.S. navy personnel.
The kingdom signed an agreement with a U.S. aerospace manufacturer to buy 12 twin-engine attack helicopters after the Senate voted down a draft resolution to block arms sales.
The agreement with Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. for the purchase of the AH-1Z Viper aircraft is worth $912 million, the official Bahrain News Agency reported.
The first batch of the aircraft will be delivered to Bahrain by the end of 2022.
The contract came amid continuing criticism of the regime of a 2011-present crackdown it has been carrying out against peaceful protesters, and its ongoing membership of a Saudi Arabian-led coalition, which has been bombing Yemen for more than three years.
The war, which seeks to restores Yemen’s former Saudi-allied officials, has killed upwards of 15,000 people, according to Yemen’s Health Ministry, although various other reports put the death toll far higher.
The U.S. generously provides arms support to Riyadh and its allies, despite their engagement in the warfare.