The Biden administration will lift its ban on the sales of offensive weaponry to Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported on Friday, a move that reverses the three-year US ban amidst ongoing attempts by the administration to broker a Saudi-Israel normalisation deal.

The Biden administration first invoked the ban on offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia in February 2022, a move that came after US lawmakers, progressive activists, and antiwar groups were calling on Washington to end its support of the Saudi-led coalition’s war efforts in Yemen.

War broke out in Yemen in 2014 after the Houthi rebel group seized the capital Sanaa, prompting Saudi Arabia and allied Gulf Arab countries - chiefly the United Arab Emirates - to launch a coalition to fight against the Houthi gains and reinstate the internationally recognised government.