BERLIN: Germany resumed direct arms exports to Saudi Arabia by approving the sale of missiles, ending a blockade in place since 2018, the government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Wednesday.

Hebestreit confirmed a report by the German weekly Spiegel, which said that Berlin had given the green light for the export of 150 Iris-T air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia.

“The details of this report are accurate,” said Hebestreit, speaking at a regular government news conference. The newly approved Iris-T missiles could “be fired from aircraft at airborne targets, that is to say missiles, drones and so on”, Hebestreit added.

Approval for the export of the missiles, manufactured by German group Diehl Defence, was granted towards the end of last year, Spiegel reported.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2024