The US Congress previously approved a sale of as many as 72 F-15s to Qatar in a deal valued at $15bn, long before the Gulf countries spat with its neighbours Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain. Given the recent diplomatic tensions in the region, the move will likely be a cause of concern for the U.S.'s other allies in the region, most notably Saudi Arabia, which led the push to cut Qatar off from other countries in the region.
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and representatives from Qatar met on Wednesday to seal the agreement, which Bloomberg News reported was for 36 jets.
"We are pleased to announce today the signing of the letter of offer and acceptance for the purchase of the F-15QA fighter jets, with an initial cost of $12 billion dollars", said the Qatari Defense Minister Khalid Al Attiyah in his statement.
The signing of the deal on Wednesday is the latest twist in the highly contradictory U.S. diplomacyover the crisis around Qatar - now in its second week - with the emirate targeted by a Saudi-led embargo.
Trump has echoed the accusations against Qatar, even as his defence and state departments have tried to remain neutral in the dispute among key allies.
On Wednesday, Rex Tillerson, in testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Relations, said it was problematic to list the entirety of the Muslim Brotherhood - one of the "extremist" groups the Saudi-led block has accused Qatar of supporting - as "terrorists".
"Pakistan has told Saudi Arabia it will not take sides in the brewing diplomatic crisis in the Middle East [West Asia] after Riyadh asked Islamabad "are you with us or with Qatar"," the paper said.
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The sale will increase security cooperation and interoperability between the US and Qatar, the Pentagon said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. "Our militaries are like brothers".
Attiyah was quoted by the official Qatar News Agency as saying the deal would create 60,000 jobs in the United States. It is said that it will take a maximum 12 hours for a ship to reach Qatar from Iran's southern ports.
Ahmadian also points out that there are clear signs that Iran may soon abandon their façade of neutrality, stop advocating for talks and instead support Qatar in a war.
The Qatari defense ministry issued a statement Wednesday celebrating the F-15 deal.
Tillerson has since sought to mediate the dispute from Washington, meeting with Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on Monday.
Bahrain and the UAE have also banned expressions of sympathy for Qatar.
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