Israel eyes Iranian navy move with 'gravity'

Israel views with "gravity" what Iran says is the "routine" dispatch of two warships to the Mediterranean, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, as the vessels were expected to pass through the Suez Canal.

During his weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said Israel viewed the movement as an Iranian power play.

"Today we are witnessing the instability of the region in which we live and in which Iran is trying to profit by extending its influence by dispatching two warships to cross the Suez Canal," Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office.

"Israel views with gravity this Iranian initiative and other developments that reinforce what we have said in past years about the Israel's security needs."

Earlier this week, Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called the move a "provocation."

Egypt has given the two ships permission to use the waterway en route to Syria.

The move -- the first time Iranian warships will have transit ted the canal since the Islamic revolution of 1979 -- is "routine" and "short term", an Iranian diplomat said.

"This will be a routine visit, within international law, in line with the cooperation between Iran and Syria, who have strategic ties," the diplomat said.

"The ships will spend a few days in Syrian ports for training purposes," having already visited several countries including Oman and Saudi Arabia."

A senior Suez Canal official told AFP on Sunday that the warships had yet to reach the waterway, after Iranian television earlier reported that they were already in the Mediterranean.

"No Iranian ships have passed. Not today, not yesterday, not the day before," operations room chief Ahmed al-Manakhly told AFP by telephone.

Manakhly did not say when the Iranian ships were scheduled to arrive, but canal officials have privately said they were expected early on Monday.

The Kharg has a crew of 250 and can carry up to three helicopters. The Alvand is armed with torpedos and anti-ship missiles.

Egypt's MENA news agency has reported that the request for the ships to pass through the Suez Canal said they were not carrying weapons, or nuclear or chemical materials.

Source - Yahoo.