WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senator John McCain said on Tuesday a proposed agreement to sell 24 Apache attack helicopters to Iraq should be reconsidered because of a report that Iran has signed a deal to sell Iraq arms and ammunition worth $195 million.
“The Apache sale has got to be on the table. We’ve got to discuss it,” the Republican Arizona senator said when asked about the Reuters report on the sale. “We’ve got to understand the ramification of this arms deal. We have to look at it a little more carefully.”
Speaking to Reuters outside the U.S. Senate, McCain said he did not know whether any lawmakers now planned to stop the proposed sale of the helicopters. Members of Congress have until February 26 to hold up the Apache sale.
Reuters reported from Baghdad on Monday that Iran has signed a deal to sell Iraq arms and ammunition worth $195 million, according to documents seen by Reuters – a move that would break a U.N. embargo on weapons sales by Tehran.