The Pentagon has frozen the sale of all spare parts for F-14 "Tomcat" fighters because of concerns about their transfer to Iran, a Defense Department spokeswoman said Tuesday. The sales of all F-14 parts were suspended on January 26 pending a review, the Defense Logistics Agency said in a statement. Dawn Dearden, a spokewoman for the agency, told AFP the sales were frozen "given the current situation in Iran."
Iran bought 79 F-14s from the United States before the fall of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1979.
The move comes amid growing US-Iranian tensions over Tehran's disputed nuclear program and what Washington sees as Iranian subversion of US efforts to stabilize Iraq.
The United States no longer has F-14 fighters in its arsenal but auctioned excess parts to the public through the Defense Logistics Agency until January 26.
The freeze covers "all F-14 parts," Dearden said.
"DLA had previously suspended sales of F-14 unique parts as well as parts deemed critical to F-14 operations that could have applications across multiple types of aircraft," the agency said in its statement.
"The review cited above will include the proper disposition of those parts," it said.
