US Navy official says Taiwan arm sales on 'pause' over Iran war

The acting US Navy secretary said Thursday that arm sales to Taiwan had been put on "pause" to ensure that the American military had sufficient munitions for its Iran operations. Asked at a congressional hearing about the stalled $14 billion weapons purchase by Taiwan, acting secretary Hung Cao said that "right now we're doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury -- which we have plenty." Ahead of his recent state visit to China, Donald Trump said he would speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the arms sales, a departure from Washington's previous insistence that it will not consult Beijing on the matter.