Iran naval ships enter Suez Canal, says official

An Iranian naval ship travels through the Suez Canal near Ismailia, some 120km north of Cairo February 22, 2011. Two Iranian naval ships entered the Suez Canal today and were heading toward the Mediterranean, a canal official said, a move certain to anger Israel.


Two Iranian ships entered the Suez Canal today and were heading towards the Mediterranean, a canal official said.

“They entered the canal at 5.45am,” the official said. No other details were immediately available.

Israel had said it takes a “grave view” of the passage of the ships – the first Iranian naval vessels to go through the canal since Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution.




Egypt’s ruling military council, facing its first diplomatic headache since taking power on February 11, has approved the vessels’ passage through the canal, a vital global trading route and major source of revenues for the Egyptian authorities.

The vessels include a frigate and a supply ship.

The decision was a difficult one for Egypt’s interim government. Cairo is an ally of the United States, has a peace treaty with Israel, and its relations with Iran have been strained for more than three decades.

Last week, the prospect of the Suez crossing was described by Israel’s far-right foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, as a provocation by Iran.