Democratic Representative Ilham Omar introduced legislation attempting to block multimillion-dollar U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) based on human rights violations.
The sales were supposedly linked to the U.S. wanting to deter a larger regional conflict involving Middle East nations in connection with the Red Sea waterway and threats by the Iran-backed Houthi group.
The U.S. is leading the 12-nation Guardian of Prosperity operation to limit military action in the Red Sea in response to a series of drone, missile and naval attacks against commercial shipping off the Yemeni coast. The U.S. and the other member nations have stated that if Houthi rebels continue such conduct, it would "bear the consequences."
Houthis have been at war with the Western-recognized Yemeni government since 2014, and with a regional Western-leaning coalition led by Saudi Arabia since 2015.
The Minnesota congresswoman's legislation aims to prevent pre-approved U.S. State Department determinations to upgrade the Saudis' drone surveillance system for about $582 million, and to provide radar and rockets to the UAE for an estimated $85 million.
"These sales go directly against our values as well as the cause of peace and human rights," Omar said in a statement to The Intercept.
In a statement issued by Omar's office and shared with Newsweek, the congresswoman called it "simply unconscionable to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia while they continue to kill and torture dissidents and support modern-day slavery."
"Saudi Arabia executed over 170 people in the last year alone—including executions just for Twitter posts," the statement reads. "The United Arab Emirates have been violating the UN arms embargo in Darfur to support the RSF, which the State Department recently determined is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
"They have also been arming the Ethiopian government, which has been accused of atrocities in Tigray, Amhara, and Oromia."
Omar, in a post on Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, implored Congress to take action to stop the sales.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), part of the United States Department of Defense (DOD), said in a December press release that the proposed Saudi sale was approved to support foreign policy goals and national U.S. security objectives, "by improving Saudi Arabia's surveillance capability to counter current and future regional threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and improve interoperability with systems operated by U.S. forces and other Gulf Region partners."
"Saudi Arabia will have no difficulty absorbing these systems into its armed forces," the release added. "The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region."
Newsweek reached out to DSCA via email for comment.
Jon Hoffman, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, told Newsweek via email that efforts like Omar's to curtail or stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE "are a step in the right direction."
"These sales are objectionable from both moral and strategic perspectives," Hoffman said. "Saudi Arabia and the UAE are among the most autocratic states in the world and consistently pursue policies that are contrary to U.S. interests. A continued embrace from Washington allows both to act with impunity at home and abroad.
"Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are liabilities, not assets, and represent a sunk investment at a time when the United States is strapped for resources and is increasingly finding itself overextended abroad."
Major regional Arab partners like Egypt have been hesitant to join the Guardian of Prosperity, while non-Middle Eastern nations like the Netherlands and Norway have committed just a handful of personnel and no ships to be stationed in the Red Sea.
Omar introduced similar legislation in November 2021, attempting to block a $650 million arms sale from the U.S. to the Saudis for human atrocities that led to a major humanitarian crisis in which more than 4 million people had been uprooted from their homes and more than 21 million were in dire need of assistance, including 11 million children, as of that calendar year, according to UNICEF.
Omar at the same time called it "simply unconscionable" to give weapons to Saudi Arabia "while they continue to slaughter innocent people and starve millions in Yemen, kill and torture dissidents, and support modern-day slavery."
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called the ongoing conflict "one of the world's largest humanitarian crises," resulting in assistance required for more than 20 million Yemenis who lack adequate food, health care and infrastructure.
"The conflict has included unlawful attacks against civilian objects such as homes, hospitals, schools, and bridges, which were carried out deliberately and indiscriminately," HRW said in its 2023 World Health Report. "There has been virtually no accountability for violations committed by parties to the conflict."
Newsweek reached out to HRW via email for comment.
Update 1/4/24, 12:36 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information and comment from Omar.
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