New Alliances as Iranian warships leave Syria

Iranian warships have crossed the Suez Canal on their return from the Syrian port of Tartus, demonstrating Tehran's commitment to back embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose regime has now been thrown a new lifeline by China and Russia.

Reuters news agency is reporting that the two ships — one destroyer and the other, a supply vessel — were heading, early Tuesday, towards the Red Sea via the Suez Canal. They were returning from Tartus, located 220 km from the Syrian capital, Damascus.

The docking of Iranian warships in Syria appears to have already provoked some anxiety in neighbouring Israel. On Sunday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said, “If the boats come near our territorial waters, we will monitor them very closely.”

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