Germany confirms sale of 150 IRIS-T missiles to Saudi Arabia

Germany’s ruling coalition has approved the sale to Saudi Arabia of 150 IRIS-T air-to-air missiles, the first weapons shipment to the Gulf nation that the government in Berlin has granted in more than five years.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s chief spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, confirmed the approval — which was first reported by Der Spiegel magazine — at Wednesday’s regular government news conference in Berlin, according to Bloomberg.

Germany stopped weapons deliveries to Saudi Arabia in late 2018 over its involvement in the conflict in Yemen and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but is now reversing that policy to reward the government in Riyadh for its recent support for Israel.

Scholz’s administration signalled this week that it’s also prepared to back the sale of additional Eurofighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia, though it said it might take several years for them to be delivered.

The IRIS-T missiles are manufactured under a joint project between companies in Germany, Greece, Norway, Italy, Spain and Sweden, according to Sweden’s Saab AB. Germany’s Diehl Defence GmbH & Co. KG is the main contractor.

The German government has also approved the following weapons deliveries, according to people familiar with the decisions:

- An additional submarine from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems GmbH to Israel

- Three mine-hunting vessels from German armed forces stocks to Pakistan

- 300 RGW 90 shoulder-launched, anti-tank weapons worth around 1.9 million euros ($2.1 million) to Georgia.