President Trump on Wednesday vetoed three resolutions that would end US arms deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates amid rising tensions between the US and Iran.

The Senate voted last month in support of 22 resolutions that would block Trump’s military aid to the countries, three of which were approved by the House last week.

Trump pledged to veto the bills last week after they passed through both chambers of Congress.

Lawmakers are not expected to have enough votes to override the veto.

“This resolution would weaken America’s global competitiveness and damage the important relationships we share with our allies and partners,” Trump wrote in veto messages to Congress on Wednesday.

The measures would have suspended the sale of precision-guided weapons to the country, which some lawmakers believe have been used against civilians in the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

“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,” Trump wrote in his message.

“But we cannot end it through ill-conceived and time-consuming resolutions that fail to address its root causes. Rather than expend time and resources on such resolutions, I encourage the Congress to direct its efforts toward supporting our work to achieve peace through a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Yemen.”

The vetoes come amid rising tensions between the US and Iran, a adversary of the Saudi Arabia. The US blames Iran for the downing of an unmanned US drone over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran also seized a UK oil tanker in the same body of water in what British officials called an “act of state piracy.”

With Post Wires