The acting US Navy secretary said that arm sales to Taiwan had been put on “pause” to ensure that the American military had sufficient munitions for its Iran operations, AFP reports.

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”.

“But, we’re just making sure we have everything, then the foreign military sales will continue when the administration deems necessary.”