US State Department cites emergency circumstances to fast-track sales without the approval of Congress.

The United States has approved $8.6bn in arms sales to Middle Eastern allies amid the US-Israel war on Iran.

The sales come after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited emergency circumstances to fast-track the transfers without prior review by the US Congress.

Israel and the Gulf states have faced a barrage of missile and drone attacks from Iran since the start of the war in late February, draining their stockpiles of US weapons and straining their air defence systems.

The sales include the transfer of an advanced precision kill weapon system (APKWS) and related equipment to Israel for $992m, and the purchase of battle command systems by Kuwait for $2.5bn.

Qatar has been approved to buy an APKWS and restock its Patriot air and missile defence systems at a cost of nearly $5bn, while the United Arab Emirates has been cleared to buy an APKWS for $148m.

In a series of announcements on Friday, the US State Department said it had provided “detailed justification” of an emergency requiring the sales “in the national security interests of the United States”, bypassing the congressional review process outlined in the Arms Export Control Act.

Patriot systems are used to intercept incoming projectiles and rank among the most advanced defence equipment in the US military arsenal.

The APKWS is used to convert unguided rockets into precision-guided munitions.

The battle command systems for Kuwait will improve the country’s air defence detection with radar, the State Department said.

The State Department in March approved separate arms sales worth $16.5bn to the UAE, Kuwait and Jordan.

The deals included drones, missiles, radar systems and F-16 aircraft for the UAE, and air and missile defence radar systems for Kuwait.

Away from the Gulf, the heavy use of US munitions in the war on Iran has raised concerns about Washington’s ability to fight China in the case of a war over Taiwan, the self-governed island that Beijing claims as its territory.

A report published by Center for Strategic and International Studies last month concluded that the US had enough stockpiles for the war on Iran, but would need more for an adversary such as China.

“Prewar inventories were already insufficient; the levels today will constrain US operations should a future conflict arise,” the report said.