US pressing for answers after reports on Iraq’s arms deal with Iran

The United States raised “serious” concerns following a report that claimed Iraq has struck a $195 million arms and ammunition deal with Iran, in a possible violation of the UN embargo. A news report revealed Monday that there were documents show the two countries reached the agreement in November, shortly after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pressed the Obama administration for more weapons during a visit to Washington. Iraqi lawmakers reportedly claimed Maliki ended up striking the deal with Iran because he did not want to keep waiting for US arms deliveries. US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki disputed any notion that the US has slow-walked weapons deliveries, and said the US is seeking “clarification” from Iraq. “I think the proof of our efforts is in the pudding there, in all of the steps we’ve taken to move forward, whether it’s small ammunitions or a number of the items of military equipment I’ve mentioned, and that tells you how committed we are to our partnership,” Psaki said. She could not comment on the accuracy of the news report of an Iran deal but said that “if true, this would raise serious concerns.” Psaki stressed that any sale of arms by Iran to another country would break a UN embargo. “We’re seeking clarification on this matter from the government of Iraq, and to ensure that Iraqi officials understand the limits that international law places on arms trade with Iran,” she said. Amid concerns about the swiftness of US arms deliveries, Psaki said the US has provided Iraqi security forces with more than $15 billion in equipment, services and training. “We’ve made a number of shipments recently, including critical deliveries of Hellfire missiles and hundreds of small arms, along with large quantities of small arms and tank ammunition, and we have worked to approve important military equipment to Iraq through our FMS program, including the recent notification of Apache helicopters,” she said. “So, we will continue to work closely with them.”