News In Brief

Reagan withdraws sale of missiles to Hussein, Saudis

President Reagan has withdrawn a heavily criticized plan to sell advanced Stinger antiaircraft missiles to Jordan and Saudi Arabia, the White House announced Wednesday. The plan had drawn strong opposition in Congress and from Israel and American Jewish groups.

Mr. Reagan reached his decision last night, less than a week after Jordan's King Hussein stunned US officials by harshly criticizing US Middle East policy and shutting the door to peace negotiations with Israel.

The administration has decided to adopt a lower profile in the Middle East for now, Secretary of State George Shultz said Tuesday, partly due to a perceived failure of US policy in Lebanon.