BICOM

The Israeli and US Navies are currently monitoring two Iranian warships located in the Red Sea. Israel believes that the ships are intending to cross the Suez Canal, before heading up the Mediterranean to Syria. The Israeli Navy has not changed its operational deployment because of the presence of the ships, according to Israeli news reports this morning. Defence Minister Ehud Barak held consultations with a number of his counterparts yesterday, to update them regarding the location of the ships. The Suez Canal is an international waterway, and as such offers free passage to ships of any country with which Egypt is not at war. Warships, however, are expected to seek permission to pass through from the Egyptian authorities. The Egyptian body responsible for passage through the canal said that the Iranian ships had not asked permission to cross through the canal, and hence denied that the Iranians intended to cross via the international waterway.