March 19 (Reuters): The Trump administration has approved about $7 billion in ​weapons for the United Arab Emirates that the State Department is not required to ​announce to the public ​under rules governing U.S. arms ⁠exports, the Wall Street ​Journal reported on Thursday.

That is ​in addition to arms sales to three Middle East countries worth ​more than $16.5 billion announced ​earlier on Thursday, the Journal said.

The unannounced ⁠deals include the sale of Patriot PAC-3 Missiles worth about $5.6 billion and CH-47 ​Chinook helicopters ​costing ⁠about $1.32 billion to the UAE, the Journal ​said, citing U.S. officials, ​adding ⁠that those sales were not announced publicly because they ⁠expanded ​previously agreed arms ​deals.

Photo from Reuters