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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Alastair McCready and Yu-chen Li in Taipei

‘Makes no sense’: experts doubt pause in US arms sale to Taiwan is due to Iran war

Donald Trump United States Taiwan Iran Xi Jinping Hung Cao Washington D.C. Rupert HammondChambers Beijing China
Flags of Taiwan are seen on a bridge in Taipei
Experts have questioned the Trump administration’s justification for pausing weapons sales to Taiwan, saying the transfers are unconnected to the Iran war. Photograph: I-Hwa Cheng/AFP/Getty Images

The Trump administration’s war against Iran should have no impact on arms sales to Taiwan, experts have said, after a US official suggested a pause in the delivery of a key weapons package was due to the Gulf conflict.

Analysts told the Guardian that a $14bn arms package left in limbo after Donald Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping could take up to six years to process, and there was a “low likelihood” of any true connection between events in Iran and weapons delivery to Taiwan.

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