Germany Revives Saudi Arms Sales With Air-to-Air Rocket Approval
- Government halted weapons exports to the Gulf nation in 2018
- Scholz coalition is rewarding Saudis over backing for Israel
An Iris-T missile defense system.
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Germany’s ruling coalition has approved the sale to Saudi Arabia of 150 IRIS-T air-to-air missiles, the first weapons shipment to the Gulf nation that the government in Berlin has granted in more than five years.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s chief spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, confirmed the approval — which was first reported by Der Spiegel magazine — at Wednesday’s regular government news conference in Berlin.