Authorities tightened security at the Suez Canal to allow an Italian submarine to pass through to the Red Sea, a maritime source told Al-Masry Al-Youm, adding that the vessel’s final destination had not been identified.
The source said the submarine crossed the canal from the Mediterranean Sea but was not accompanied by any other warships.
Passenger ferries had been stopped as the submarine passed, and the land road parallel to submarine’s navigational path was blocked for cars and trucks.
The Suez Canal is one of Egypt’s most strategic areas, topping its sources of revenue and defining most of the country’s relations with foreign powers.
Iranian warships crossing through the canal last year raised alarms from the US and Israel, which feared that they might be transferring weapons to Islamist militias or the Syrian regime.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
