In a tweet on Thursday, foreign minister Zarif said: “US destabilizes the world with arms exports,” adding that the arms sales is “draining [the] budgets that could be used for a brighter future.”
Zarif further censured the arms sales as futile and a waste of money, saying that US arms "can’t even ensure the security of American citizens.”
He also mocked the United States for selling a large quantity of arms to Saudi Arabia, stating: “35% of global military spending failed to stop 15 Saudis from murdering and injuring 9000 Americans on 9/11.”
Meanwhile, a day after a White House visit from Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the State Department has approved three arms deals, worth more than $1 billion dollars. The deals include 6,000 Raytheon TOW-2 anti-tank missiles worth $670 million, $106 million in helicopter support and $300 million worth of vehicle parts.
Under President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia has bought billions in American weapons systems, including the THAAD missile defense system, C-130 airlifters, modified littoral combat ships, CH-47 helicopters and more.
