The United States will go ahead with a planned $1bn weapons sale to Morocco, reports say a day after the North African nation agreed to normalise diplomatic ties with Israel.
An unnamed source familiar with the deal said on Friday that the Trump administration has sent a notification to Congress about the proposed arms sale.
The arms deal was first reported on Thursday after US President Donald Trump hailed the normalisation agreement between Morocco and Israel.
That agreement, which was condemned by Palestinian leaders, was reached after Washington recognised Morocco’s claim to the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Morocco is the fourth Arab country to agree to normalise relations with Israel at the behest of the Trump administration after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.
The State Department’s notice to Congress about the proposed arms deal begins the formal processing of the sale, two sources familiar with the deal, said on Friday.
It was also reported that the deal includes four drones and laser-guided munitions.
Congress is notified about major international weapons deals and given the opportunity to review them before they go through.
Under U.S. weapons export law, members of Congress can attempt to block such sales by offering resolutions of disapproval, but sources said that was not expected in Morocco’s case.