, A major arms-sale package that the Bush administration is planning to offer Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf allies to deter Iran has been delayed due to objections from Israel, saying the advanced weaponry would erode its military advantage over its regional rivals.
Israeli officials, including the former defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, have come to Washington in recent months to argue against elements of the planned sales, the New York Times reported.
In particular, the Israelis are concerned about the possible transfer of precision-guided weapons that would give Saudi warplanes much more accurate ability to strike targets, American officials told the paper.
The United States has made few, if any, sales of satellite-guided ordnance to Gulf countries, several officials were quoted as saying. Israel has been supplied with such weapons since the 1990s and used them extensively in its war against Hezbollah last summer.
The American officials, the paper said, would not provide a dollar figure for the planned sales.
But one American defense industry executive told the Times that if all the equipment under discussion with the Saudis and other Gulf countries was eventually sold, including tanks, warships and advanced air defense systems, the deal could run from 5 billion to 10 billion dollars.
The Israeli complaints have introduced a new uncertainty into the administration's plan to beef up Persian Gulf militaries as a bulwark against Iran and as a demonstration that, no matter what happens in Iraq, Washington remains committed to the Sunni Arab governments.
Several officials in the State Department and the Pentagon told the paper that plans to formally notify Congress about the potential weapons sales had been delayed at least until later this month.
After notification, Congress has 30 days to decide whether to block the sales.
Support for maintaining Israel's military superiority remains strong on Capitol Hill, and administration officials are discussing how to allay the concerns, including the possibility of a separate arms package for Israel, the report said.
Some details of the planned sales to Persian Gulf countries had been reported last month, but the paper says Israel's opposition to aspects of them had not been disclosed.
The Times quoted officials as saying that Israel's concerns about the proposed American arms sales were focused primarily on precision-guided munitions and any other offensive weapons that would be provided to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.
They said Israel did not seem intent on using its political clout in Congress to kill the entire planned sale.
It's not like the Israelis are going to end up with nothing,” said a senior administration official, adding “the Israelis understand that it's in our interest and their interest” that the United States try to shore up military systems for Sunni Arab allies. But Israel is also concerned that the Bush administration's ambitions for an American-Israeli-Sunni coalition allied against Iran may never materialize, or that there could be a revolution in Saudi Arabia that would leave the mostly American-made Saudi arsenal in the hands of militant Islamists, the Times said.
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