SNAP BACK: Obama Admin Could Halt New Iran-Russia Weapons Deals.
Could, but won’t:
The United States has the authority to block new multi-billion dollar arms deals between Iran and Russia though the administration is not expected to exercise this authority, which was granted under United Nations Security Council resolutions pertaining to the recently implemented nuclear agreement.
Senior Iranian and Russian officials held discussions this week about inking a new arms pact expected to be worth about $8 billion. Iran has reportedly sent Moscow a “shopping list” of various arms and military hardware it is seeking to purchase.
Blocking these sales would be an easy card for the White House to play to wring a concession or two out of Moscow and Tehran, but clearly the Administration has no interest in doing so.