US Senators Want to Block Drone Sales to Saudi Arabia

Reuters broke the news in June that US President Donald Trump's administration planned to reinterpret the Missile Technology Control Regime, a Cold War arms agreement between 35 nations, with the goal of allowing US military contractors to sell more drones to an array of nations.

Republican Senators Mike Lee and Rand Paul, Democratic Senators Chris Murphy and Chris Coons, and Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, introduced the measure.

It would amend the Arms Export Control Act to prohibit the export, transfer or trade of many advanced drones except to countries that are NATO members and to Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan and the Zionist entity, they said in a news release.

US lawmakers have tried before to rein in Trump administration plans for arms sales, particularly to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for use in the war in Yemen. The measures have passed with bipartisan support, but failed to get enough Republican support to override Trump's vetoes.