The transfer was widely seen as a counterbalance against the influence of Iran in the region[4][5] and a "significant" and "historic" expansion of United States relations with Saudi Arabia.

[10][11] Saudi Arabia's security forces have relied on U.S. equipment, training, and service support for decades, officially as a counterbalance to Iranian military influence in the region, and to help protect the Kingdom from extremist attacks.

[13] However, some parts of this deal were blocked by the administration in December 2016 after Saudi Arabia's airstrikes and targeting procedures in neighboring Yemen drew controversy.

In the past the Trump administration has sold billions of dollars worth of weapons to Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, during their active involvement in the Yemen civil war.

[38] Tulsi Gabbard—a Democratic Representative from Hawaii—criticized the move, saying that "Saudi Arabia is a country with a devastating record of human rights violations at home and abroad and has a long history of providing support to terrorist organizations that threaten the American people".

[51][52] On June 5, 2017, Bruce Reidel of the Brookings Institution wrote that the arms deal consisted of "a bunch of letters of interest or intent, but not contracts.

"[53] On June 13, the United States Senate narrowly rejected an effort to block part of deal and approved the sale of $500 million worth of American weapons.

The approval of the deal was opposed by various lawmakers, including GOP Senators Mike Lee, Rand Paul, Todd Young and Dean Heller, along with most Democratic Senators who voted to advance the measure in order to block the sale, citing the human rights violations by Saudi Arabia in the Yemeni Civil War and human rights violations at home.

[56] In August 2018, a laser-guided Mark 82 bomb sold by the U.S. and built by Lockheed Martin was used in the Saudi-led coalition airstrike on a school bus in Yemen, which killed 51 people, including 40 children.

U.S. military officials posted at the coalition war room in Riyadh brought to notice that inexperienced Saudi pilots were flying the warplanes at high altitude to avoid enemy fire, but in turn were putting civilians in danger due to inaccurate bombings.