Democrats in the US Senate on Wednesday failed to pass legislation blocking the sale of F-35s to the UAE, paving the way for Washington and the Emirates to sign an official contract formalising the deal.
But president-elect Joe Biden has yet to take a position on the sale.
The long, drawn-out process could present several other obstacles for the UAE in the months and years ahead as the Biden administration examines key details of the $23 billion deal.
Washington and Abu Dhabi must next agree on a letter of offer and acceptance before US defence contractor Lockheed Martin can start the lengthy process of building the 50 F-35s.
Heidi Grant, director of the Pentagon’s Defence Security Co-operation Agency, which co-ordinates foreign arms sales, said last week that it would be possible for the Trump administration and the UAE to sign the letter before Mr Biden takes office on January 20.
That would be an unusually short time for such a major contract.
Bob Menendez, the Democratic senator who introduced the legislation to block the sale, indicated that much of his opposition was because of the pace at which the Trump administration made the offer.
“I am not opposed to these sales if they make sense or pose no threat to US or Israeli security in the short and long term,” Mr Menendez told the Senate before the vote on Wednesday.
“But these sales require careful and deliberate consideration within the interagency process and by this Congress.”
Emma Soubrier, a visiting scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told The National that there was much discussion about the letter of offer and acceptance already, even though the month-long congressional review period does not officially end until Friday.
“LOAs can take months to actually establish depending on how on the same page people on both sides are already,” Ms Soubrier said.
“My understanding is the Trump administration has already tried to fast-track this deal.”
Others are more sceptical that the Trump administration and the UAE would be able to finalise the letter before Mr Biden took office.
"It seems unlikely that an LOA on the F-35s, for example, could happen by January 20," Jeff Abramson, a senior fellow at the Arms Control Association, told The National.
“That is a negotiation between the Emiratis and the US. How long that takes is variable. We just don’t know.”
But even if Mr Trump is unable to finalise the letter with the UAE before leaving office, Mr Biden’s foreign policy advisers have not ruled out proceeding with some form of the huge deal.
"The Obama-Biden administration made sure that our most advanced fighter plane would be available to Israel, but only to Israel in the Middle East, because we wanted to make sure that Israel was able to preserve its qualitative military advantage, and we have provided for the sale of some number of F-35s during our administration," Tony Blinken, Mr Biden's nominee to serve as secretary of state, said in October.
“And so, reports that the administration has committed to provide these planes to the UAE is something we would look at very, very carefully.”
Ms Soubrier said Mr Blinken’s remarks did not indicate that the Biden administration “would not actually approve” the sale later.
However, the exact details and cost of a major arms sale often differ, in this case between the Trump administration’s $23bn notification to Congress and the weapons delivery.
"When you look at actual data, figures of notifications, those figures are often a lot higher than what eventually gets delivered," Seth Binder, an advocacy officer at the Project on Middle East Democracy, told The National.
“In part, that’s because when they get down to the nuts and bolts of the LOA, they might narrow it back.
“The terms of the agreement might not follow to the tee exactly what the notifications look like.”
The notification presented to Congress includes the $10bn F-35 sale, another $10bn for precision-guided munitions and $3bn for reaper drones.
Israel’s endorsement of the sale could also bolster support for the arms deal in Washington, relieving some tension among sceptical Democrats when Mr Trump leaves office.
The Israeli ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, while appearing on MSNBC with the UAE Minister of State and envoy to the US Yousef Al Otaiba, said he was “very comfortable” with the F-35 sale.
Although the Emirates have been looking to buy the F-35 fighter jets since the administration of George W Bush, the Trump administration opted to proceed with the sale after the UAE signed the Abraham Accord to normalise relations with Israel.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee said this week that it would not oppose the sale.
Other pro-Israel groups in Washington have openly endorsed it as long as Israel receives more US support to maintain its qualitative military edge in the region.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The%20specs
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AT%20A%20GLANCE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Jawan
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Profile of Tarabut Gateway
Founder: Abdulla Almoayed
Based: UAE
Founded: 2017
Number of employees: 35
Sector: FinTech
Raised: $13 million
Backers: Berlin-based venture capital company Target Global, Kingsway, CE Ventures, Entrée Capital, Zamil Investment Group, Global Ventures, Almoayed Technologies and Mad’a Investment.
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
World Cup final
Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, six-cylinder
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 395bhp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: from Dh321,200
On sale: now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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Match info
Huddersfield Town 0
Chelsea 3
Kante (34'), Jorginho (45' pen), Pedro (80')
Company%20Profile
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The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
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Overview
What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.
When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.
Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.
Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.
Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.
Overview
Cricket World Cup League Two: Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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