Iran has sent submarines to the Red Sea, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday, citing an unidentified source, in a move that could anger Israel. “Iranian military submarines entered the Red Sea waters with the goal of collecting information and identifying other countries’ combat vessels,” Fars said. It did not specify the number or type of vessels involved but said they were sailing alongside warships of the Navy’s 14th fleet.
State-run Press TV said in May the 14th fleet, comprised of two vessels, the Bandar Abbas warship and Shahid Naqdi destroyer, had been sent to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden. “The fleet entered the Gulf of Aden region in May and has now entered the Red Sea in the continuation of its mission,” Fars said. Two Iranian warships passed through the Suez Canal in February, the first such move since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, en route to Syria. Tehran said the mission was one of “peace and friendship” but Israel called it a “provocation”.
