US suspends delivery of major arms systems, cash assistance to Egypt

The United States announced it was halting deliveries of major military hardware and cash assistance to Egypt to signal deep concern over the rising tensions in the African country. On Wednesday, Washington said it had stopped shipments of some large-scale military systems as well as halting $260 million in cash aid to Egyptian military leaders, who are currently running the country after ousting its first democratically elected president, Mohammad Mursi, AFP reported. Although the US review of its decades-old policy would not be permanent, it would remain in place "pending credible progress toward an inclusive, democratically-elected civilian government through free and fair elections," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. The decision will prevent deliveries of big-ticket items, including Apache helicopters, F-16 fighter jets, M1A1 Abrams tank parts and Harpoon missiles, officials told reporters. They would not give specific figures, but said the value of the frozen contracts would run into "hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance." Washington had already effectively shelved deliveries of expensive military hardware since the coup, with Mursi held incommunicado for months amid a tough crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood supporters which has seen the party once again banned, and its assets seized. In the wake of the events, President Barack Obama had ordered his national security team to review the total $1.5 billion in annual US aid to Egypt. The decision to freeze major arms contracts was outlined Wednesday in a 40-minute phone call between US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Egypt's military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The United States, however, will keep up assistance "to help secure Egypt's borders" and bolster "counterterrorism and proliferation, and ensure security in the Sinai," Psaki said. Washington will also continue "to provide parts for US-origin military equipment as well as military training and education," along with aid for health programs, education, and private sector development, she added.