President Trump vetoed three congressional measures Wednesday night that would block U.S. emergency arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Congress is not expected to have the two-thirds majority needed to override the vetoes.

The president said the resolutions “would weaken America’s global competitiveness and damage the important relationships we share with our allies and partners.”

In May, the administration invoked an emergency provision to push through deals with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Jordan without a 30-day congressional review period.

Administration officials said the move was needed to deal with increased threats from Iran, while lawmakers said the president was bypassing congressional authority.

It’s the third time Mr. Trump has used his veto pen. In a message to Congress, the president said Saudi Arabia is a “bulwark against the malign activities of Iran and its proxies in the region.”

“First and foremost, it is our solemn duty to protect the safety of the more than 80,000 United States citizens who reside in Saudi Arabia and who are imperiled by Houthi attacks from Yemen,” the president said. “The Houthis, supported by Iran, have attacked civilian and military facilities using missiles, armed drones, and explosive boats, including in areas frequented by United States citizens, such as the airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.”

He also said the resolution aimed at Saudi Arabia would “degrade Saudi Arabia’s military preparedness and ability to protect its sovereignty,” directly affecting its ability to defend U.S. military personnel hosted there.

There has been bipartisan opposition to the Saudi campaign against Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, which has produced huge numbers of civilian casualties and produced what U.N. officials say is one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Mr. Trump argued in his veto message that blocking sophisticated U.S. precision-guided weaponry for Saudi Arabia could prolong the conflict and increase the chance of civilian casualties.

“The United States is very concerned about the conflict’s toll on innocent civilians and is working to bring the conflict in Yemen to an end,” the veto message read. “But we cannot end it through ill-conceived and time-consuming resolutions that fail to address its root causes.”

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