Arms Sales Boom Amid Iran, Saudi Arabia Proxy Wars

Weapons imports have skyrocketed in a Middle East torn by war.

Saudi army artillery fire shells towards Yemen from a post close to the Saudi-Yemeni border on April 13, 2015, in southwestern Saudi Arabia. http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2016/02/22/arms-sales-boom-amid-iran-saudi-arabia-proxy-wars

By Tom Risen Feb. 22, 2016  |   http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2016/02/22/arms-sales-boom-amid-iran-saudi-arabia-proxy-wars

Nations in the Middle East are buying more weapons and ammunition as war plagues the region – especially Saudi Arabia, whose arms purchases skyrocketed during recent years amid an escalation of its rivalry with Iran, according to new studies.
A report published on Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows Saudi Arabia is now the world’s second-largest weapons importer, based on data that showed the kingdom increasing its purchases from 2011 through last year by 275 percent compared with sales between 2006 and 2010.
[READ: Here’s What Would Happen if Saudi Arabia Deployed Troops to Syria]