General Discussion

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Two Iranian warships will pass through the Suez Canal on their way to Syria via the Mediterranean Sea, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced during a Jerusalem conference.

 
He added that sending the warships was "a provocation that proves Iran's nerve and self-esteem is growing from day to day". Lieberman called on the international community "to understand that Israel cannot ignore these provocations forever". (Ronen Medzini)

  Source: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4029690,00.html

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Twenty-four hours after Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the Egyptian upheaval had no military connotations for Israel, the Iranian frigate Alvand and cruiser Kharg transited the Suez Canal on their way to Syria Wednesday night, Feb. 16. Their passage was termed "a provocation" by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. In Beirut, Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah said he was looking forward to Israel going to war on Lebanon because then his men would capture Galilee.
Israel was closely monitoring the Iranian flotilla, whose visit to the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah on Feb. 6 was first revealed exclusively by DEBKA-Net-Weekly 481 on February 10.

Up until now, Saudi Arabia, in close conjunction with Egypt and its President Hosni Mubarak, led the Sunni Arab thrust to contain Iranian expansion – especially in the Persian Gulf. However, the opening of a Saudi port to war ships of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the first time in the history of their relations points to a fundamental shift in Middle East trends in consequence of the Egyptian uprising.  It was also the first time Cairo has permitted Iranian warships to transit Suez from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, although Israeli traffic in the opposite direction had been allowed.
Iran made no secret of its plants to expand its naval and military presence beyond the Persian Gulf and Red Sea to the Mediterranean via Suez: On February 2, Iran's Deputy Navy Commander Rear Admiral Gholam-Reza Khadem Biqam announced the flotilla's mission was to "enter the waters of the Red Sea and then be dispatched to the Mediterranean Sea."

 However, Israeli military intelligence which failed to foresee the Egyptian upheaval and its policy-makers ignored the Iranian admiral's announcement and its strategic import, just as they failed to heed the significance of the Iranian flotilla's docking in Jeddah.

  Source: http://www.debka.com/article/20675/

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U.S. monitoring Iran ships which Israel says will cross Suez Canal
The Egyptian company which controls the canal has denied the claim; Ahmed el-Manakhli, head of the canal operations room, said warships must get permission 48 hours before crossing, and so far, "we have not been notified."
By DPA and Haaretz Staff Tags: Israel news

The United States said Wednesday that it is monitoring two Iranian ships in the Red Sea which Israel said earlier in the day were set to cross the Suez Canal.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem on Wednesday that two Iranian warships planned to sail through the Suez Canal en route to Syria. He called the move the latest "provocation" by Tehran and hinted at an Israeli response.

U.S. State Department spokesman PJ Crowley would not say whether they were warships and could not confirm their destinations.

"There are reports there are a couple of ships in the Red Sea," Crowley said. "What they do, where they go - we'll follow this with some curiosity."

"We always watch what Iran is doing," he said.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack Obama has been informed of the ships.

  Source: http://links.visibli.com/links/36b0e9

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