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Iranian warships enter Suez

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CAIRO: Two Iranian naval ships have entered the Suez Canal, a canal official said yesterday, en route to Syria on a purported training mission that Israel regards as a provocation.

"The two ships entered the canal on Tuesday at around 5.45am (2.45am AEDT)," the official said. A journey through the 163km waterway usually takes between 12 and 14 hours.

The patrol frigate Alvand and support ship Kharg were the first Iranian warships to go through the canal since the 1979 Islamic revolution, and and will sail past Israel on their way to Syria.

Egypt's official MENA news agency has reported that the request for the ships to transit the canal said they were not carrying weapons or nuclear and chemical materials.

The 1500-tonne Alvand is normally armed with torpedoes and anti-ship missiles, while the larger 33,000-tonne Kharg has a crew of 250 and facilities for up to three helicopters, Iran's official Fars news agency has said.

Their imminent arrival in the eastern Mediterranean comes as Israel worries over its security as popular uprisings shake the Arab world.

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Original piece is http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/iranian-warships-enter-suez/story-e6frg6so-1226010337394

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As Ronit pointed out, Iran has no right to of passage since 1979, as it is under sanction and is in violation of its IAEA oblligations. The ships it is sending through, challenge not only Israel, but the UN, the US and NATO. It also exposes Egypt as an untrustworthy ally of the West and democracy, show riots notwithstanding.

Posted by paul2 on 2011-02-23 12:01:37 GMT

The issue being discussed is the clear provocation by Iran of the only Democratic country in the Middle East, and in-fact further destabilization of a very serious situation stretching from North Africa to Afganistan. Did you understand Baruch?

Posted by Danny on 2011-02-23 10:19:41 GMT

Ummm...the US circling China???Geography is geography...The US has never threatened China and it is allowed to have friends isn"t it? Those countries don"t have to be friends with the US if they don"t want to... I know the US is powerful but gee whiz...I didn"t think it had the power to create countries and place them strategically!

Posted by Ronit on 2011-02-23 08:56:25 GMT

Yes well if the USA was a theocracy threatening to wipe another nation off the planet we might have a problem there. The US on the other hand has been supporting democracy and paying dearly for it for a long time...which is not to say they haven"t screwed things up somewhat...democracies are not known for going to war with each other...a read of history will inform of that fact!

Posted by Ronit on 2011-02-23 08:03:29 GMT

They have no right...they are under sanctions for breaching nuclear obligations. They have not had right of passage through the Suez since 1979! It is naive to think that this is anything but deliberate provocation...and of course no one wants a confrontation. But the potential of Iran having war ships off the coast of Israel...with their stated intentions of wiping Israel off the map...well...come on!!! You don"t think they post a threat...they have more than declared their threats haven"t they?

Posted by Ronit on 2011-02-23 07:34:27 GMT

This is a plain provocation and the purpose of it is obvious... Iran is gauging Israel"s reaction and from it, know whether it is actually a paper tiger or else... My opinion is that Iran hasn"t spared words claiming its wished to obliterate Israel entirely, which for all intent and purpose,marks it as an enemy and if this enemy is going to help another enemy such as Syria, shouldn"t it be a "casus belli" ?? Israel should make it clear to Iran and warn it Israel will not tolerate its presence in that part of the Mediterranean and will even consider sinking the ships. Remember that he who hits first, hits twice... The situation doesn;t allow for playing guessing games

Posted by jacob on 2011-02-23 02:58:55 GMT

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