Iran ships pass via Suez, Israel says provocation

ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Two Iranian naval ships passed through Egypt's Suez Canal into the Mediterranean on Tuesday heading for Syria, a source at the canal authority said, a move that Israel condemned as a "provocation".

Iran appears to be testing the state of affairs in the Middle East after the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. A longstanding peace treaty with Egypt is crucial to Israel's regional security.