Iran’s plan to send two naval ships through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean is an attempt to expand its regional influence, and Israel takes a grave view of the move, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.
"We can see what an unstable region we live in, an area in which Iran is trying to take advantage of the situation that has arisen and broaden its influence by transferring two warships via the Suez Canal," he said in public remarks to his cabinet.
"Israel takes a grave view of this Iranian step," Netanyahu said, adding that Israel would need to boost defense spending as a result of Tehran’s move and recent regional upheaval.
Earlier in Egypt, Suez Canal officials said the two ships were due to sail through the waterway to the Mediterranean on Monday, denying a report from Iran that the vessels had already crossed.
The vessels, which are apparently not carrying any unconventional cargo, would be the first Iranian naval ships to sail through the canal since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979. They are expected to anchor in the Syrian port of Latakia.
Referring to a recent U.S. veto of a UN draft resolution condemning West Bank settlement building, Netanyahu reiterated remarks released by his office on Saturday saying that Israel "deeply" appreciated the block.
"We remain committed to advancing peace both with our neighbors in the region and with the Palestinians," Netanyahu said during Sunday’s cabinet meeting, adding he believed "the U.S. decision makes it clear that the only way to peace is direct negotiations and not through the actions of international bodies, which are designed to bypass direct negotiations."
On Sunday, Iranian media reported that the two warships had already passed through the Suez Canal en route to a Syrian port.
Israel believes the Egyptians had no choice but to allow the ships to pass through the Suez Canal, because the treaty to which it is a signatory obliges it to allow free passage through the waterway.
However, during recently ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s regime, the Iranians did not make such a move, apparently due to clear opposition from Cairo.
The Israel Navy is prepared in case the Iranian ships make a move toward the Israeli coastline, though the chances of that happening are at this point believed to be slim.