U.S. moves to keep F-14 parts from Iran

President Bush signed legislation Monday prohibiting the Pentagon from selling leftover F-14 fighter jet parts, a move prompted by security gaps in the military's surplus auction.
Those gaps made the surplus auction a prime place for Iran to shop for the spares it desperately needs for its Tomcat fleet.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., proposed the ban after The Associated Press reported last year that buyers for Iran, China and other countries exploited weaknesses in Pentagon surplus-sale security to obtain sensitive military equipment including parts for F-14s and other aircraft and for missile components.
Iran is the only country still trying to fly Tomcats, another name for F-14s. The U.S. Navy retired its F-14s in 2006.

Bush made the Tomcat sales ban law by signing a $696 billion military spending bill that included it. He didn't comment on the F-14 provision.

Iran bought Tomcats with U.S. permission in the 1970s when the two countries were allies. The governments were so friendly at that point that U.S. Navy pilots helped deliver the jets.
The hostage crisis that followed the 1979 overthrow of the shah led the U.S. to break off diplomatic relations. Bush has called Iran part of an "axis of evil."

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This story is important because it shows President Bush's fear towards Iran getting the parts to the fighter plans.