Egypt allows Iranian warships to transit Suez Canal
Sat, 02/19/2011 - 15:45
Egypt has agreed to allow two Islamic Republic warships to transit through the Suez Canal. According to the Middle East News Agency, it has been confirmed that the two warships are not carrying nuclear or chemical weapons. Yesterday Egyptian foreign and defence ministries had announced they were reviewing Iran’s request to access the canal. This is the fist time since the the Islamic Republic was established that Iranian naval ships have been allowed to use the Suez Canal. Hosni Mubarak’s government had always refused Iran’s requests. The passage of Iranian warships comes as populist anti-government uprisings spread through the region, and the U.S. has announced it is closely monitoring the progress of the ships, which are supposed to cross the canal at 6 AM, according to Iranian media. The convoy includes the Alvand, a frigate, and the Kharq, a supply ship, which have both passed routine checks to ensure there is nothing illegal aboard.We have not seen confirmation of this yet. The text quoted above comes from Radio Zamaneh, an expat Iranian news channel based in the Netherlands since 2006.