Iranian warships enter Mediterranean to show ‘might’ to regional countries
Saturday, 18 February 2012
Iranian Navy boats in the Strait of Hormuz in January. Iranian warships entered the Mediterranean Sea on Saturday in a move that would show Iran’s “might” to regional countries. (AFP)
“The strategic navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has passed through the Suez Canal for the second time since the (1979) Islamic Revolution,” Sayari said in remarks quoted by the official IRNA news agency.
He did not say how many vessels had crossed the canal, or what missions they were planning to carry out in the Mediterranean, but said the flotilla had previously docked in the Saudi port city of Jeddah.
Two Iranian ships, the destroyer Shahid Qandi and supply vessel Kharg, had docked in the Red Sea port on February 4, according to Iranian media.
The announcement comes amid heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear program and rising speculation that Israel might launch pre-emptive strikes against Iranian facilities.
The first Iranian presence in the Mediterranean in February 2011 provoked strong reactions from Israel and the United States, with the Jewish state putting its navy on alert.
Iran’s navy has been boosting its presence in international waters since last year, deploying vessels to the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden on missions to protect Iranian ships from Somali pirates.
0 orang berkata:
Post a Comment