Emergency: US Approves Sale of 12,000 Bomb Shells to Israel

The United States Department of State has approved an emergency sale of 12,000 bomb shells to Israel, as the two countries become involved in a Middle East conflict that is intensifying with Iran. The sale of 1,000-pound (450-kilogram) shells, valued at around US$151.8 million, was approved by the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. ‘The sale will enhance Israel’s ability to confront current and future threats, strengthen its domestic defence, and serve as a deterrent against regional threats,’ the bureau said in a statement, reported by AFP on Saturday, 7 March 2026. In addition to the munitions, the sale will include logistics support and technical services from the US government and contractors. US President Donald Trump said that a major American defence company has agreed to double production of advanced weapons. He posted about this on social media on Friday, 6 March local time, a week after the US and Israel first launched strikes against Iran. US arms sales normally require congressional approval. However, in this instance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued an exception by waiving that approval. ‘The Secretary of State has set out and provided a detailed justification that an emergency has arisen requiring the immediate sale of defence articles and defence services to the Government of Israel for the national security interests of the United States,’ the State Department said, citing the Weapons Export Control Act. Congressman Gregory Meeks, a Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that bypassing congressional oversight of the arms sale ‘exposes a stark contradiction at the heart of this administration’s case for war.’ ‘The Trump administration has repeatedly stressed that they are fully prepared for this war,’ Meeks said in a statement. ‘Rushing to use emergency authority to bypass Congress tells a different story.’ ‘This is an emergency created by the Trump administration itself,’ he added.