The two Iranian warships Alvand and Kharg left the Mediterranean and passed through the Suez back into the Red Sea on Saturday.
"The flotilla has completed its mission successfully in the Mediterranean Sea and has returned to the Red Sea transiting through the Suez Canal," said Navy Commander Rear Admiral Sayari [IRNA, 5 March].
Photo: IRIS Alvand Docked at Syrian Port of Latakia on 24 February. IRNA
IRINS Alvand Crossing the Suez Near Ismailia, Egypt
After a long expectation and amid speculations, the Iran Navy frigate Alvand (FFG-71) and its supply ship Kharg (AORH-431) today entered the Mediterranean Sea. This is the first time since the 1979 revolution that Iranian warships have crossed the Suez into the Mediterranean.
Notwithstanding reports from Iran’s state-owned broadcasting system, the AFP is now reporting that the passage of the two Iranian warships through the Suez into the Mediterranean has been delayed by two days and it is now scheduled for Wednesday. The IRIB and its Arabic affiliate the Alalam had earlier reported that the ships had actually crossed into the Mediterranean.
"The shipping agent handling the two Iranian warships has told the canal administration to push back their passage by two days," a Suez official told AFP on Sunday [AFP, 20 February].
The ships, the frigate Alvand and its replenishment ship Kharg, are expected to anchor in the Syrian port of Latakia after passing the Suez.
The Iranian frigate Alvand and its replenishment ship Kharg crossed the Suez and reached the Mediterranean today. Iran’s state-owned broadcasting network (IRIB) said the two vessels are heading toward a Syrian port. The Suez crossing is the first for Iranian Navy ships since the 1979 revolution.
The ships, which are not carrying any unconventional cargo, are expected to anchor in the Syrian port of Latakia.
The new Egyptian government approved the passage through the Suez honoring its treaty that obliges it to allow free passage through the waterway. Israel has called the crossing “provocative.”
The Alvand is equipped with anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. The Kharg carries 250 sailors and three helicopters.
Photo: IRIS Alvand File Photo. Majid Jamshidi / Fars News Agency
CNN is reporting from Cairo that the Iranian frigate IRINS Alvand and its replenishment ship IRINS Kharg are transiting the Suez Canal to enter the Mediterranean Sea. Israel has called the planned move “provocative.” The vessels are on a yearlong training mission.
Two Iranian war ships planned to sail through the Suez canal en route to Syria on Wednesday, Israel's foreign minister said, describing the move as a "provocation" by Tehran.
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency had reported on January 26 that Iranian navy cadets had been dispatched on a year-long training mission going via the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea and on through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean Sea.
