Massive arms deal with US ‘not linked to Iran deal’
The massive US arms sale to Israel, approved by the State Department this week, is not tied to the emerging deal between the international community and Iran over its nuclear program, a senior Israeli security source has said.
The source described on Thursday the $1.87 billion deal, which includes large numbers of precision guided bombs, hellfire missiles for combat helicopters, and bunker busters, as being “part of a multi-year plan, that was updated after Operation Protective Edge [in Gaza last year].”
The source described the package being at the stage of requiring “routine approval in Congress after Pentagon approval.”
He stressed that the deal has “no link with the [P5+1] deal with Iran [over its nuclear program],” and that it had no connection to the large-scale weapons deals that occurred recently between the US and Gulf states.
“This deal is another testimony to the deep and close ties between the [defense establishments] of the United States and Israel. These are very high quality munitions, which include bunker busters and high precision munition.”