Germany resumes arms sales to Saudi Arabia, ending years-long ban

Germany, on Wednesday (Jan 10) said that they have approved the delivery of 150 IRIS-T air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia, marking a reversal in the years-long decision to ban arms exports to the kingdom. The restrictions were imposed by Berlin in 2018 in response to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit confirmed a report by the German weekly Spiegel, which said Berlin had authorised the sale of the 150 missiles to Riyadh. “The details of this report are accurate,” said Hebestreit, speaking at a daily press conference.

He added that IRIS-T could “be fired from aircraft at airborne targets, that is to say missiles, drones and so on”.

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What changed Germany’s mind?

The move marks a major shift of policy for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government. According to Spiegel, the authorisation to send missiles, produced by German arms maker Diehl and fired by Saudi Arabia’s Eurofighter jets, was granted towards the end of last year.

Reuters citing a security source said that the new batch of missiles is meant to replenish Saudi stocks depleted over the past years, adding that recently the kingdom has used them to shoot down drones fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen.

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The ban on Saudi Arabia was imposed by the government offormer Chancellor Angela Merkel following Khashoggi’s killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.

However, Berlin has recently loosened its stance, and even praised Saudi Arabia’s “constructive approach,” amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock during a visit to Jerusalem on Sunday (Jan 7) said Saudi Arabia has been making a significant contribution to Israel’s security after Hamas’ October 7 attacks and “this is helping to contain the danger of the conflict spreading across the region.”

She noted that Riyadh had also made efforts to intercept missiles fired at Israel by Iran-backed Yemen-based Houthi rebels.

Scholz and Baerbock have also said that Germany will no longer stand in the way of British plans to sell additional Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia.

Currently, Saudi Arabia has 72 Eurofighters, as reported by DW. Previously, the United Kingdom said that they would like to supply 48 more to the kingdom, a decision which required Berlin’s approval since the Eurofighter project is a joint British, German, Italian and Spanish effort.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, currently in Saudi Arabia to discuss energy and economic cooperation, said the country had an important role to play regarding the stabilisation of the Middle East.

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“Saudi Arabia is engaging in a such way that there is no escalation there,” Habeck said in comments broadcast by NTV. He added, “My perception is that Saudi Arabia is self-confident enough to know its role and wants to fulfil it.”

Decision sparks disagreements

The shift in policy about supplying arms to Saudi Arabia has sparked disagreements within the ruling coalition, with prominent figures from Baerbock’s Green Party voicing their concerns.

Co-chair of the Greens, Ricarda Lang insisted that “with a view on the human rights situation, including Saudi Arabia’s domestic constitution, I think as before that it is wrong to deliver Eurofighters” to the kingdom.

Notably, the 2021 coalition agreement between Scholz’s SPD, FDP and Greens explicitly states that there will be no approval of arms deliveries to any country directly involved in the war in Yemen.

(With inputs from agencies)