Iranian warships enter Mediterranean

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TEHRAN, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Two Iranian warships sailed through the Suez Canal Saturday into the Mediterranean Sea, Iranian naval officials said.

CNN said it is not clear where the destroyer and supply ship are headed.

Iranian navy Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari was quoted by Iran's semiofficial Mehr news agency as saying "the navy's 18th fleet will in the best way carry the message of peace and friendship to regional countries, and display the might of the country and the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Egypt, which has sovereignty over the Suez Canal, is bound by the 1978 Camp David Accords, which guarantee the right of free passage by ships belonging to Israel and all other nations on the basis of the Constantinople Convention of 1888, CNN said.

Tensions between Israel and Iran are high amid speculation Israel could stage a pre-emptive against Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program.