Saudi Arabia and France Seal $3 billion Weapons Deal For Lebanon Army

Earlier Lebanese Defense Minister Samir Moqbel had been to Iran to get military aid from Tehran. 




Saudi Arabia and France sealed an agreement for Riyadh to finance the delivery of $3 billion worth of French weapons to the Lebanese army.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius hailed the conclusion of the deal, first announced last December, as a major boost to the Lebanese army’s ability to tackle “terrorism” at a time when the former French colony is under mounting threat.The deal comes as the poorly equipped Lebanese army battles jihadists, including militants of the Islamic State group, both along its porous border with Syria and in its second city Tripoli.

The deal was signed in Riyadh by Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf and Edouard Guillaud, the head of the ODAS organization set up by France for the export of defense equipment.