If war breaks out, American forces likely will attempt to secure Gulf air space by destroying or suppressing Iran’s air forces. The IRIAF’s 1970s-vintage F-14s could be U.S. forces’ first targets.
In 2007, U.S. agents even seized four intact ex-U.S. Navy F-14s in California three at museums and one belonging to a producer on the military-themed T.V. show JAG.
U.S. lawmakers passed a bill specifically banning any trade in Tomcat components to Iran or any other entity, and then-president George W. Bush signed the law in 2008.