A major arms-sale package that the Bush administration is planning to offer Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf allies to deter Iran, has been delayed because of objections from Israel, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The Israelis say that the advanced weaponry would erode its military advantage over its regional rivals, according to the report.

Israeli officials, including former defense minister Shaul Mofaz, have come to Washington in recent months to argue against elements of the planned sales.

In particular, the Israelis are concerned about the possible transfer of precision-guided weapons that would give Saudi warplanes much more accurate ability to strike targets, the report quoted U.S. officials as saying.

The United States has made few, if any, sales of satellite-guided ordnance to gulf countries, while Israel has been supplied with such weapons since the 1990s and used them extensively in its war against Hezbollah last summer, according to the report.

If all the equipment under discussion with the Saudis and other gulf countries was eventually sold, including tanks, warships and advanced air defense systems, the planned sales could run from 5 billion to 10 billion U.S. dollars, the newspaper cited a U.S. defense industry executive as saying.

Several officials in the State Department and the Pentagon said that plans to formally notify Congress about the potential weapons sales had been delayed at least until later this month. After notification, Congress has 30 days to decide whether to block the sales.

Source: Xinhua