Iran warships entered the Suez Canal Tuesday for the first time in decades, traveling to Syria on an unknown military exercise, reports 'The Christian Science Monitor.'
Israel responded to the excursion with alarm, saying in a release that it viewed the military expedition "with gravity."
Israeli diplomats remained tight-lipped beyond the terse statement, with government officials scrambling to outline a position on the Iranian military junket.
There are no international prohibitions against Iran using the canal, which was created to short-circuit what would otherwise be a long voyage around the horn of Africa. The bylaws of the Suez Canal expressly state that it is to be available to all ship travel, both military and cargo, so long as they pay the tariff for passage.
The Iranian mission comes at an extremely tense time in the Middle East, with two heads of state already exiled and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi teetering on the brink of being thrown out of office.
Israel responded to the excursion with alarm, saying in a release that it viewed the military expedition "with gravity."
Israeli diplomats remained tight-lipped beyond the terse statement, with government officials scrambling to outline a position on the Iranian military junket.
There are no international prohibitions against Iran using the canal, which was created to short-circuit what would otherwise be a long voyage around the horn of Africa. The bylaws of the Suez Canal expressly state that it is to be available to all ship travel, both military and cargo, so long as they pay the tariff for passage.
The Iranian mission comes at an extremely tense time in the Middle East, with two heads of state already exiled and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi teetering on the brink of being thrown out of office.
No comments:
Post a Comment