Israeli submarine crosses the Egyptian Suez Canal in a maneuver to intimidate Iran

Saturday July 04, 2009 11:01 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Reuters reported that a (German-made) Dolphin Israeli submarine (which was given to the Zionist state for free) crossed the Egyptian Suez Canal last month during a Navy drill.

The maneuver was seen as a message to Iran. The move comes several years after Israel refrained from sending its submarines through the Canal fearing that Egypt would be able to detect them.

The Jerusalem Post reported that a senior Israeli military official saying that this is the first time that a submarine crosses the Suez Canal since an Israeli decision was made in this regard in 2005.

The Post said that the submarine crossed the Suez Canal while floating on the surface, and did not even attempt to be discrete.

An Israeli official told Reuters that this maneuver showed Iran that Israel is capable of reaching the Arabian Gulf, referred to by Israel as the Persian Gulf, and that it can also reach the Indian Ocean easier than ever.

The official added that the Dolphin submarine can fire missiles, including nuclear warheads.

A trip to the Gulf without crossing the Suez would mean that Israeli submarines, fueled by diesel and mainly stationed in the Mediterranean, would need a several-week trip.

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