The U.S. Stirs Persian Gulf Waters The Saudi Arms Deal By RANNIE AMIRI

It would be the single largest foreign arms deal in United States history.

Pending congressional approval, the Obama administration plans to sell $60 billion in advanced aircraft and sophisticated weaponry to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Add $30 billion in proposed enhancements to the country’s navy and ballistic missile-defense systems, and the result is one huge jobs program, further deterioration in Saudi-Iranian relations and heightened tension in the Persian Gulf—all calculated endpoints.

That the colossal arms package was made public enough to be reported on in Monday’s Wall Street Journal indicates it comes without serious Israeli objection—giving credence to the longstanding notion that Saudi Arabia and Israel maintain increasingly close ties, joined by a mutual animus toward Iran.