US announces arms sale to Saudis

US George W. Bush held a second day of talks in Saudi Arabia yesterday after his administration announced it was taking the first steps in a multibillion-dollar arms deal with the kingdom.

The Bush administration has notified Congress of its intention to sell 900 satellite-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia for US$120 million, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Monday.

The weapons are the first part of a planned US$20 billion deal with the Gulf which the administration announced last July.

The notification kicks off a 30-day period during which Congress can raise objections.

Monday's announcement coincided with Bush's arrival in Saudi Arabia for talks with his close ally focusing on what the US president calls the Iranian "threat" and his efforts to secure a Middle East peace deal within a year.

The deal, which includes weaponry and high-tech munitions, has alarmed Israel and some US Congressmen, especially as Saudi Arabia refuses to recognize the Jewish state.

The US administration, which has also announced a US$30 billion military aid pact with Israel, argues that the deal with the Saudis -- the world's top oil exporter and Arab political powerhouse -- is needed to counter Iran.

Bush made it clear that what he calls the threat to the world posed by the "the world's leading state sponsor of terror" is at the top of the agenda of his weeklong Middle East tour.

But diplomats said Bush faced "difficult talks" in Saudi Arabia, which like other Gulf states is determined to avoid further conflict in the region after the US-led invasion of Iraq of 2003.