Egypt to allow Iran to send two naval ships through Suez

Egypt approved a request by Iran to send two warships through the Suez Canal on their way to Syria, a move that has ratcheted up Middle East tensions and driven oil prices higher, bloomberg.com reports.

The decision was reported by Egypt’s state television network and confirmed by an Egyptian military official who would not be identified in line with policy. Iran’s request to use the waterway specified that the vessels don’t hold nuclear or chemical materials, and aren’t carrying or delivering weapons, the official said.

The ships will go to Syria, where they will anchor “for a few days” after a trip through the canal that is “routine according to international law,” Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency said, citing the country’s ambassador to Syria, Ahmad Mousavi.

The U.S. is “monitoring” Iran’s plan to send warships through the Suez Canal, White House press secretary Jay Carney said. Iran doesn’t show “responsible behavior in the region, which is always a concern to us,” Carney told reporters traveling on Air Force One to an appearance by President Barack Obama outside Portland, Oregon.

The passage of the Iranian vessels would be a “provocation” to Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said this week. He said Israel would not “ignore forever” such acts.