Cairo consents to Israeli warships using Suez

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http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25792322-15084,00.html Fear of a madman apparently forges new friendships. Do you think Cairo feels as threatened by Iran's nuclear ambitions as Israel does? [i]IN nautical muscle-flexing clearly aimed at Iran, Israel has sent two of its most advanced missile boats through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea. The move from the Mediterranean came only 10 days after an Israeli submarine, believed to be capable of firing cruise missiles with nuclear warheads, passed through the canal into the Red Sea. The submarine, and two small warships that reportedly accompanied it, returned to Mediterranean waters a few days later. Israeli warships have passed through the canal in the past but infrequently. The recent concentration of such sailings plainly goes beyond operational considerations into the realm of strategic signalling. To reach the proximity of Iranian waters surreptitiously, Israeli submarines based in the Mediterranean would normally sail around Africa, a voyage that takes weeks. Passage through the Suez could take about a day, albeit on the surface and therefore revealed. An apparent party to these signals is Egypt, in whose territory the canal lies. Anticipating protests from hardliners in the Arab world at the passage of Israeli warships through the canal, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Cairo was obliged by international treaty to permit warships to pass through the canal if they did not threaten Egypt itself. Nevertheless, Israel is unlikely to have requested this concentration of crossings without prior consultation with Cairo. Egypt and other moderate Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia have formed an unspoken strategic alliance with Israel on the issue of Iran, whose desire for regional hegemony is as troubling to them as it is to the Jewish state. There were reports in the international media that Saudi Arabia had consented to the passage of Israeli warplanes through its air space in the event of an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities but both Riyadh and Jerusalem have denied it. Despite US President Barack Obama's expressed desire to persuade Iran through diplomatic dialogue to halt its nuclear program before it reaches weapons capability, Israel continues to gear up for the possibility that in the end military action will be necessary. In addition to honing its air-attack potential, including the staging of long-range exercises, Israel has been shoring up its missile-defence system as a major element in its security posture. The US announced this week that an advanced Arrow missile designed by Israel and the US to protect against ballistic missiles will be soon be tested on a US missile range in the Pacific. The Arrow is seen by Israel as a first-line defence against Iranian missiles, including possible nuclear missiles. Israeli officials yesterday announced the first successful test of an anti-rocket system, Iron Dome, designed to shoot down short-range rockets with ranges of five to 70km.[/i]