💸 🇺🇸 🇮🇱 The Trump administration has authorized more than $8.6 billion in emergency arms sales to partners in the Middle East

The State Department announced the sales in a series of statements on Friday night. The sales would entail the transfer of rockets to Israel, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and air-defense equipment to Qatar and Kuwait. The Persian Gulf countries sustained repeat barrages of Iranian drones and ballistic missiles during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

Israel, the Emirates and Qatar would receive an Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, which fires laser-guided rockets. Kuwait also purchased an advanced aerial defense system for about $2.5 billion.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio expedited the deals under an emergency provision allowing the “immediate sale” of the weapons, the State Department said, bypassing standard congressional review and prompting criticism from Democratic lawmakers. This is the third time the second Trump administration has invoked an emergency authorization during the Iran war to bypass Congress on arms sales.

The sales came after the United States, Israel and several Gulf Arab countries expended an enormous amount of munitions during the war with Iran.

It was unclear when the weapons would arrive in the region, since it takes years to build large quantities of defensive interceptors and other types of munitions. The slow pace of production has become an acute concern in Washington, and any such weapons that American arms companies make for other countries mean less for the United States. Some Pentagon officials have expressed anxiety about diminishing U.S. stockpiles.

“This arms transfer reflects a broader pattern: ignoring the law, bypassing Congress and making major national security decisions without transparency or accountability,” said Gregory W. Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Biden administration also twice used an emergency declaration to sell weapons to Israel during the Gaza war.

The State Department said in its announcements that the sales were in the national security interest of the United States.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/02/world/middleeast/us-fast-track-arms-deal-middle-east.html

🛢 🇰🇼 🚢 Kuwait exported zero barrels of crude oil in April 2026, the first time since the end of the Gulf War

Kuwait still produces oil which it then takes partly into storage and partly into refined products; some of which has been exported.

📎 Tanker Trackers

🇨🇳 🇺🇸 🇮🇷 China does not recognize US sanctions on Iranian oil purchases and will not comply with them.

⬛️ Beijing issues injunction to block illegal US sanctions on Chinese refineries processing Iranian oil

🔶️ In a direct challenge to Washington’s "long-arm jurisdiction," China’s Ministry of Commerce issued a formal injunction on Saturday to neutralize US sanctions against five domestic refineries accused of processing Iranian crude. The move, reported by Xinhua News Agency, marks a significant escalation in the struggle over global energy markets, as Beijing moves to provide legal cover for its firms to bypass unilateral US restrictions.

🔶️ The injunction specifically shields Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, which was targeted by the US Treasury in April for allegedly purchasing billions of dollars in Iranian oil. Also protected are four independent "teapot" refineries—Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group, Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group, Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical, and Shandong Shengxing Chemical—all of whom had previously been blacklisted during the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran.

🔶️ In a statement accompanying the order, the Commerce Ministry condemned the US measures as a violation of “international law and the basic norms of international relations.”

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/china-orders-non-compliance-with-us-sanctions-on-5-firms/3925136

📎 The Cradle

📢 🇺🇸 🇩🇪 Reporter: Why is the U.S. removing troops from Germany?

Trump: We're going to cut way down, and we're cutting a lot further than 5000.

📎 Clash Report