The State Department announced Tuesday that it had approved the sale, for $2.2 billion, of tanks to Bahrain, a small Gulf kingdom that is a key US ally and home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.

According to a statement from the US Department of State, it is planned to sell 50 Abrams M1A2 tanks, which are among the heaviest in the world.

Bahrain, a kingdom ruled by a Sunni dynasty, although a close US ally, has faced a US arms embargo for years after a bloody crackdown on protests by Shiite parties as part of the so-called Arab Spring in 2011.

The US Congress can block the sale by voting within thirty days, which is generally very rare.

The sale of the tanks “will improve Bahrain’s ability to deal with current and future threats by providing it with a credible deterrent and allowing it to participate in operations in the region alongside the US and other partner nations,” the US embassy said in a statement.

The US and Bahrain signed an agreement in September to strengthen their security and economic ties. In particular, the exchange of information is envisaged, as well as an increase in scientific exchanges.

Bahrain, whose relations with Iran are characterized by great tensions, is also the only Arab state participating in the coalition formed by the US and Britain to “protect” international shipping from the action of the Houthi rebels of Yemen, the who since mid-November have targeted ships transiting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The latter say they are launching the attacks in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been besieged and bombed relentlessly by Israel since the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas’ military wing launched an unprecedented attack on Israeli territory on October 7.