Rico says that Kirsty Buchanan has the big story in The Express, but Rico suspects we might see the Israeli submarines in action if the Iranians do what they say they will:
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has vowed to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza, as two aid ships and a military escort prepare to set sail. In a provocative move, the Iranian Red Crescent intends to send two vessels packed with food and medical aid and seventy relief workers. A third ship, carrying an operating theatre, could follow.
President Ahmadinejad raised the spectre of a sea battle, as he warned the ships would be carrying an escort of “volunteer marines” ready to “teach the Israelis a lesson”.
Ali Shirazi, the Revolutionary Guard’s spokesman for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said it was “Iran’s duty to defend the innocent people of Gaza”. Foreign Secretary William Hague described the intervention as “unhelpful”.
The blockade has been in place since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2006, despite inter national concern about a humanitarian crisis. That concern turned to condemnation on 31 May when, in a raid on a Turkish aid flotilla, nine people were killed by Israeli commandos. Despite promises of an inquiry the affair has all but destroyed relations between Israel and its main ally in the Muslim world.
Abdolrauf Adibzadeh, the Red Crescent’s director of inter national affairs, said the ships were being sent in co-ordination with the Turkish government. Meeting Turkish leaders in Istanbul last week, the Iranian president said the vessels would not shrink from a head-on clash with Israeli military. The threat came ahead of a UN Security Council vote to strengthen sanctions on Iran over its uranium enrichment programme. Turkey was one of the two nations to vote against the sanctions. Next week, the European Union will discuss tightening its own sanction regime amid fears Tehran is close to creating weapons-grade uranium. There are also concerns about human rights abuses in Iran, with opposition to the regime ruthlessly suppressed.
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