Iran Sending Warships through Suez Canal

Not even a week after the resignation of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, the region is again becoming more tense. This time the trouble emanates from the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is sending warships through the Suez Canal, right near Israel. This provocative move is just one in a series that Iran has embarked upon in the last few years.

A member of the Suez Canal board said that warships could pass through only on approval of the Egyptian ministries of defense and foreign affairs and that so far the canal authority had received no notice of such expected movement. However, he added that notice sometimes came only hours in advance.

Reuters reported a possible purpose for the ships’ movement, noting that Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported on Jan. 26 that Iranian navy cadets had been dispatched on a year-long training mission to defend cargo ships and oil tankers against Somali pirates and would travel via the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea and on through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean.

 Iran is trying to push the envelope. They saw the protests in their own country on Monday and fear a repeat of the Green Revolution of 2009.

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