A secretive arms deal between the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates has come to light at a time when Iran appears closer than ever to obtaining nuclear weapons. The deal, which has yet to be finalized, was announced in Congress April 18.

The deal amounts to $10 billion worth of military sales. The three nations in the Middle East that are set to gain from this deal are all “pro-Western” nations. They are seen as key players in counterbalancing the rise of Iran to the east. It is no secret that the U.S. wants there to be a tangible resistance to the increasingly belligerent Iranians.

Israel is also set to receive $3 billion in military aid this year. It will buy missiles, radars for war planes, KC-135 refueling tanker planes, and V-22 Osprey troop transport aircraft. The uae will buy 26 F-16 warplanes, which will cost a total of $5 billion, and will purchase the air-to-ground missiles to go with them. Saudi Arabia will buy the same missiles to arm its substantial air fleet, which it has already bought from the U.S.

One senior U.S. administration official said the deal was “not just to boost Israel’s capabilities, but also to boost the capabilities of our Persian Gulf partners so they, too, would be able to address the Iranian threat—and also provide a greater network of coordinated assets around the region to handle a range of contingencies.”

The deal, which includes long-range weaponry, sheds light on U.S. weakness. At first glance, it may not seem so. After all, the U.S. has a military so large that $10 billion in arms sales to the Middle East is no big deal. Twenty-six F-16s is a drop in a bucket. But the fact is, the U.S. is unwilling to use its military might in the Middle East. The U.S. is stepping away from the volatile region at a time when Iran is becoming a greater threat.

The latest U.S. strategy to create peace in the Middle East is to arm “pro-Western” nations and hope that they will solve the problem. In one sense, Washington holds the gun, with Iran firmly in its sights, but rather than take the shot, it is giving the weapon to its friends in the Middle East, hoping they will shoot in the right direction.

This is primarily the case with the uae and Saudi Arabia. While they are Sunni-ruled, they are not proactive in stopping Iran. Saudi Arabia gives military support to the rebels in Syria and gives support to the last U.S. troops in the region in the form of air force bases. There are five operational air bases in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis are considered the greatest Arab counterbalance to Iran in the Middle East. But how reliable are they as an American partner in the Middle East?

Saudi Arabia is besieged with problems. There is the war in Syria, and the problem with radicalizing Iraq to the north. When the U.S. pulled out, Iran was quick to move in, tightening the noose on Saudi Arabia. The Iranians are pushing from the east as well. Bahrain still convulses in riots as the Shiite Arabs are stirred up by their Persian neighbors across the Gulf. Bahrain is the stepping stone to Saudi Arabia, and Iran knows it. If it can unsettle Bahrain, it might be able to stir up unrest in eastern Saudi Arabia where the Shiite population is denser. To the south, Yemen is causing its own problems. There is back-and-forth fighting between al Qaeda and the Houthis. Both are unstable and pose a threat to the security of Saudi Arabia’s southern border.

The Saudis are running back and forth swatting at the Iranian proxies on their doorstep. If they get in, Saudi Arabia will be in big trouble. U.S. military aid won’t be used against Iran, it will be used to prevent problems at home. Therefore, current U.S. strategy keeps the Saudis on the back foot while Iran rises.

Relations between the uae and Iran are strained over issues like Bahrain, but neither nation has worked to sever diplomatic ties. The uae cannot be relied on to back U.S. policy with Iran. The uae is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement. That means it is not formally aligned with any major power bloc. That includes the U.S.

The Emirates have shown their willingness to defy U.S. interest in years past. In June 2011, the U.S. charged a number of firms in the uae for supplying Iran with military components without licenses. That same year Iran evaded sanctions by doing deals with uae shipping companies. There were also sanctions leveled against other oil and shipping companies in the uae for trading with Iran.

The U.S. is playing a dangerous game by putting weapons into the hands of a government that is so open to doing deals with the Iranian people.

The third member of the trade deal is Israel. Relations between Israel and Washington have continued to deteriorate despite President Obama’s recent visit to Israel. The long history of military aid to Israel has ensured ties remain intact in spite of Washington’s move away from its long-time ally in the Middle East. Israel needs the military and financial aid of the U.S. to remain the dominant power in the region, even if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We don’t need anyone to give us the right to prevent a new holocaust.” The U.S. provides, but relations are constantly put under strain by the U.S. policy of inaction concerning Iran.

During his election tour last year, candidate Mitt Romney accused President Obama of being “more afraid that Israel might attack Iran than that Iran will develop a nuclear weapon.” Policies on Iran do seem to lean more on the utopian idea that talks will be more productive than action.

Iran has shown constantly that talks fail. The recent P5+1 meeting held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, came around at the same time Iran opened a heavy-water facility, a critical part of developing plutonium. In January, Iran announced that it would speed up its nuclear weapons program at its Natanz facility by installing more advanced nuclear enrichment centrifuges. Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that it would install approximately 3,000 new-generation IR2m centrifuge machines, which are three to five times faster than current models.

There is compelling evidence to suggest that talking to Iran is not slowing anything. Up to this point, Washington has urged restraint from Israel in dealing with Iran. Now it is supplying Israel with refueling planes designed to assist fighter jets in long-range missions. It is giving Israel missiles that are designed to be fired from planes at distance, avoiding anti-air defenses, which Iran has in abundance around its facilities.

This latest armaments deal might be the U.S. sidestepping the fact that it has been wrong about reasoning with Iran. Now it is arming the Middle East to take on the Persians. Mr. Obama was urging restraint in dealing with Iran on his recent visit to Israel, insisting there was still time for diplomacy to work, but U.S. actions speak louder. However, even if this is the first step of a reversal of U.S. policy on Iran, it is still the wrong approach.

The U.S. has the ability, but not the will, to stop Iran now. The first armaments going to Israel may not arrive for two years. It could already be too late. Iran is on the threshold of having weapons-ready nuclear capability. There is no time for the U.S. to sit back and wait for the situation to be resolved.

As Iran races toward obtaining nukes, it is hastening the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Iran is the head of the king of the south, a conglomerate of Islamic nations that will push against the prophesied king of the north in Europe. The U.S. cannot stop the fulfillment of prophecy. When the king of the north and the king of the south clash, there will be specific alliances in place across the Middle East. Psalm 83 explains the nations that will be united together. The nations of Saudi Arabia and the uae will be in the camp of the king of the north. Israel will be in neither.

But there is good news behind these events. Christ has power superior to all nations. He won’t palm off His responsibilities to others. He will come quickly to end the chaotic and violent rule of man. That is what is prophesied, and you have the blessing of knowing in advance. If you want to understand more about this pivotal prophecy, read History and Prophecy of the Middle East.