Iran Sends Two Naval Vessels Through
Egypt's Suez Canal
By RICHARD BOUDREAUX
JERUSALEM—Israel put its navy on alert as two Iranian naval vessels sailed through Egypt's Suez Canal on Tuesday, staking out what Israeli officials called a provocative, symbolic presence in the Mediterranean.
Israeli media said the navy would track the frigate and supply ship but not confront them as they moved north, outside territorial waters of the Jewish state, on Iran's first naval deployment in the Mediterranean since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iranian news agencies also reported the ships' passage and said they were headed for a Syrian port to conduct training exercises.
"The world should know that the presence of Iranian warships in the Suez Canal has taken place…through the deep guidance of the Supreme Leader" Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's official Irna news agency said, quoting Abdolrahim Mousavi, deputy commander of the army.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that Iran is trying to extend its influence in the wake of a popular uprising in Egypt that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, a staunch ally of the Jewish state. Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom told a conference in southern Israel on Tuesday that Iran's naval initiative is a signal to Arab leaders of "who is the new leader in the Middle East."
"It certainly doesn't bode well," Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon told Israel's Channel 2 television. But he added: "These two ships are not an immediate threat."
Iran and Israel are bitter enemies. Israel accuses the Islamic republic of arming and funding the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and the Hamas movement in Gaza for wars against the Jewish state. Israel has hinted it will take military action to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Iran insists that its nuclear development is for civilian purposes only and has accused Israel of trying to sabotage the program and kill its scientists.
Egypt's state-run MENA news agency said neither Iranian ship carried chemical or nuclear material across the Suez.
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