From Foreign Policy: The friction between top GOP leaders in Congress and the French government is over the Mistral-class amphibious assault ship, which the French are considering selling to the Russian Federation. As the biggest potential arms sale from a NATO country to Russia, U.S. lawmakers are worried this could set off a chain reaction of NATO arms sales to Russia. Plus, they share the concerns of Georgia and the Baltic states that the ship could allow Russia to increase its aggressiveness in its near abroad.

So what does this have to do with Iran sanctions? Well, The Cable brought you exclusively the story of how the State Department wants changes in the Chris Dodd Iran sanctions bill that’s currently pending in the Senate. Basically, the Obama administration wants exemptions for countries that cooperate with American sanctions against Iran. France presumably would be at the top of the list.

But a senior GOP Senate aide told The Cable that Republicans negotiating over the Iran sanctions language would not allow an exemption for France or French companies if the Mistral deal goes through.

“Whether or not France gets an exemption could very well depend on whether France decides to sell this ship to Russia,” the aide said, explaining that “it’s possible to draw that exemption narrow enough so that the president could not possibly exempt France…”

“If France decides to go ahead and do this, which the letter all but says they will, our options are limited but it will have consequences for the NATO alliance,” one senate aide warned. (photo: AP)