The administration of President Barack Obama said it would continue to process a $60 billion
arms project with Saudi Arabia, which would include more than 200
fighter-jets and helicopters. Major arms sales to the United Arab
Emirates were also not affected.
The United States has been the biggest supplier to the Gulf
Cooperation Council and the rest of the Middle East.
Officials said the administration has intensified an examination of
military procurement requests by Middle East countries. They said the
examination by the Defense Department and State Department would focus on
whether U.S. weapons would be used against civilians.
"They are being reviewed on a case-by-case basis," Genaille said.
In an address on April 11, Genaille did not cite specific arms requests
that would come under U.S. review. Until the ouster of their regimes, the
United States had been the leading supplier to Egypt and Tunisia.
Speaking to the Navy League, Genaille said the Middle East has sought to
procure a range of U.S. platforms. He cited the C-130J air transport, C-17
strategic transport as well as missile defense and intelligence systems.
"These are new areas where we can expect to see growth over time,"
Genaille said.
Genaille said the administration has approved
the sale of 85 F-15E fighter-jets to Saudi Arabia, worth $29.4 billion, as
well as the sale of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense missile defense
system to the UAE. The THAAD deal was set at $7 billion.