The Middle East Is Now In An Arms Race

Saudi army artillery fires shells towards Houthi positions from the Saudi border with Yemen. Photograph: Faisal Al Nasser/Reuters

The Guardian: The $18bn arms race helping to fuel Middle East conflict

Security experts express fears for region’s stability amid record weapons sales from west and Russia’s missile deal with Iran

The Middle East is plunging deeper into an arms race, with an estimated $18bn expected to be spent on weapons this year, a development that experts warn is fuelling serious tension and conflict in the region.

Given the unprecedented levels of weapons sales by the west (including the US, Canada and the UK) to the mainly Sunni Gulf states, Vladimir Putin’s decision last week to allow the controversial delivery of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran – voluntarily blocked by Russia since 2010 – seems likely to further accelerate the proliferation.

That will see agreed arms sales to the top five purchasers in the region - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Egypt and Iraq – surge this year to more than $18bn, up from $12bn last year. Among the systems being purchased are jet fighters, missiles, armoured vehicles, drones and helicopters.

WNU Editor: Here is an easy prediction .... if the Iranians get their nuclear deal, this "arms race" is going to explode coupled with the real possibility of a nuclear arms race at the end of any such agreement.