A bipartisan group of US senators has proposed a bill to face the threat of Iranian drones and to strengthen US partnerships in the Middle East.
Senators Jim Risch and Bob Menendez, ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined in introducing the legislation, which seeks joint research and development between the US and its partners in the Middle East to produce systems capable of facing the Iranian drones.
“Iranian drones have only exacerbated threats to global instability, wreaking havoc across the Middle East – targeting the UAE, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, and adding fuel to the conflicts in Yemen and Syria,” said Menendez.
“Iran eagerly sells its drones to Russia with the full knowledge that they will be used against innocent civilians in Ukraine, and they are culpable in their suffering and deaths,” he continued.
The bill stresses that “the US should improve cooperation with allies… to systematically map out, expose, and disrupt missile and drone procurement networks” used by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
It adds that the partner countries of the US “face urgent and emerging threats” from the drones systems.
“Development of counter Unmanned Aircraft System technology will reduce the impact of these attacks, build deterrence, and increase regional stability,” according to the bill.
“The threat from Iranian drones is reshaping the security environment across the Middle East and Europe. Hundreds of drones have threatened our international partners, US troops, and diplomats. It’s long past time we develop innovative solutions to make all of us safer,” said Risch.
He stressed that “increased cooperation is not only in America’s interest, it will also restore deterrence against a rogue Iranian regime and its terror proxies.”
The bill mentioned the cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Yemen.
