Federal US agents have seized disabled F14 fighter jets from museums in California because of fears that parts would be sold to Iran.

The raids reflect the nervousness that is driving policy towards the Islamic republic at a time when the US has stationed two aircraft carriers in the Gulf and is alleging that Iranian Revolutionary Guards are aiding attacks on its soldiers in Iraq. One European diplomat described the raids as evidence of American paranoia.

The F14 Tomcat fighters, made famous by the film Top Gun,had been sawn in half and welded together before being sold by the Ventura naval base as scrap metal in 2005 for as little as $2,000 (£1,000) apiece. Three ended up in museums at Chino Airport, while a fourth was acquired as a prop by producers of the TV show JAG.

Although there is no evidence that the aircraft had been plundered for parts, US customs conducted a 17-month operation to stop any components from entering the black market. Iran’s ageing squadron of F14s dates to before the 1979 Revolution and Tehran has become increasingly desperate to find spare parts despite a US arms embargo against it.

The Pentagon has said repeatedly that Iran’s military could seek to wreck the world’s economy by closing the Strait of Hormuz through which much of the West’s oil supplies are shipped.

Admiral Michael McConell has cited Iran’s ballistic missiles and naval power as elements of a conventional military force, as well as its terrorist surrogates such as Hezbollah, that threaten oil-rich Gulf states and challenge US interests. “It seeks a capacity to disrupt the operations and reinforcement of US forces based in the region — potentially intimidating regional allies into withholding support for US policy — and raising the political, financial and human costs to the US and our allies of our presence in Iraq.” Iran said this week it would attend an international conference with the US and other UN Security Council members, including Britain, on the future of Iraq in Baghdad tomorrow.

Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian Foreign Minister, said that a junior minister would lead the country’s delegation at the talks, its first public encounter with the US since 2004.

Sean McCormack, the US State Department spokesman, has refused to rule out the possibility of face-to-face negotiations. He said that the US would use any contact with the Iranians to raise the subject of their support for Shia militias, which have killed US troops. “And if that means having a discussion with the Iranian representative in the context of this meeting, yeah, we’re going to take that opportunity.”

A British diplomatic source said that while the sight of Iran and the US around the same table would have an important symbolic value, “we are under no illusions that this weekend will produce a silver bullet”. All sides have dismissed speculation that the talks will help to resolve the stand-off over Iran’s nuclear programme.

Flying Tomcats

— Iran is now the only country to fly F14s

— The stock dates to the Shah’s era, when 79 planes were brought from the USA

— The deal included spare parts, but with the US weapons embargo these have long since ran out.

— Analysts estimate the country has about 25 serviceable planes

— US customs have arrested a number of people for trying to smuggle spare parts to Iran

— Iranian F14 crews gained important combat experience during the Iran-Iraq war, outgunning the Iraqi Air Force and inflicting heavy casualties

— In their entire service US F14s only ever shot down a handful of planes

Source: Globalsecurity.org

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