Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The U.S. sale of the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter to Iraq has been stalled.

Officials said the Baghdad government has failed to sign a Letter of Notification for the U.S. sale of 24 Apaches.

The officials said the Iraqi Defense Ministry never accepted the letter or requested an extension of the proposed $4.8 billion deal.

“The Iraqis didn’t want to discuss any restrictions or conditions on the Apaches,” an official said.

Iraq has sought to compensate for the absence of Apaches with Russian combat platforms. They included the Su-25 fighter-jet and the Mi-35 attack helicopters, delivered in July and August 2014.

In January 2014, the Defense Department sent the letter to Congress of the Iraqi request for the Apaches, produced by Boeing. The request included 480 AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, radars and night vision systems.

Iraq has acknowledged the expiration of the Apache deal. U.S. ambassador Lukman Faily blamed Congress and the administration of President Barack Obama for the delay in the program.

“It was stuck in Congress, and it was stuck in the White House, and that delay has had an adverse impact on us,” Faily said on July 2014. “Even if we pay the bills now the pilots are not in place.”

Officials said the U.S. offer to Iraq expired in August. They said this meant that the process of notification to Congress must begin again under the Foreign Military Sales program.

  Hellfire missiles, Iraq turns to Russia for combat copters, Lukman Faily, Mi-35, Su-25