Chinese Firms Plot Secret Arms Sales to Iran, U.S. Officials Say
The effort involves plans to send weapons through other countries in an effort to hide the origins of the shipments.
It Is Happening Every Day, Every Where
The effort involves plans to send weapons through other countries in an effort to hide the origins of the shipments.
The Trump administration has held up the sale for months ahead of President Trump’s meeting this week with President Xi Jinping of China.
The Persian Gulf countries and Israel have faced repeated Iranian attacks during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. The State Department move bypassed congressional review.
President Trump, who will also go to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, has told advisers that he wants to sign deals worth more than $1 trillion on the trip.
The new sum was a 13% increase from the 2025 fiscal year, the White House said.
The Biden administration saw the $67 billion in military assistance it provided to Kyiv as essential. Trump sees any further aid as leverage.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s orders could force many groups working on global aid to stop their programs. And the White House has approved sending more 2,000-pound bombs to Israel.
The White House seized a rare chance to undermine Russia and build up regional allies as it built a coalition to support the Ukrainians.
The arms transfer could be the final one the Biden administration provides to Israel. President Biden has largely ignored critics of Israel’s war in Gaza who have urged a halt to weapons aid.