Washington (TDI): The US Department of State announced on Friday that it had approved an emergency sale of munitions worth $151.8 million to Israel without submitting the deal for congressional review.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked emergency authority, citing urgent national security needs, to authorize the sale. The weapons package includes 12,000 BLU-110A/B general-purpose 1,000-pound bombs, with the principal contractor identified as Repkon USA. The decision follows the US–Israel air campaign against Iran, which began on February 28.
Democratic Representative Gregory Meeks criticized the move, saying that bypassing Congress illustrates a lack of preparedness for the war. “Rushing to invoke emergency authority to circumvent Congress tells a different story. This is an emergency of the Trump administration’s own creation,” he said.
The US and Israel have conducted airstrikes on Iranian targets, and Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks against Israeli and US assets in the region. According to Amir Saied Iravani, at least 1,332 Iranian civilians have been killed, with thousands more wounded. Key Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were reportedly killed during the conflict.
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The sale highlights Washington’s continued military support for Israel, a policy that spans both the Trump and Biden administrations, including prior conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. Rights groups and UN inquiries have criticized such support, particularly during Israeli offensives that have caused large-scale civilian casualties, displacement, and humanitarian crises.
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Israel maintains that its military actions are defensive, citing attacks by Hamas in October 2023, which killed over 1,200 people and involved the taking of more than 250 hostages. Analysts say the emergency munitions sale underscores the intensifying US–Israel military coordination amid ongoing regional conflict.
