Forces loyal to Muammar Gadaffi's regime started this week to push back hard against those cities seized by rebel forces in the Libyan uprising. Meanwhile defectors from his rule started organising themselves and created a national transition council. Elsewhere in the region authorities hoping to quell budding unrest are responding to citizens complaints about the lack of jobs.
Two Iranian naval ships passed through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean sea on a training mission Tuesday, a move Israel has branded "a provocation". The two ships are reportedly bound for Syria, bringing them close to Israeli waters.
Two Iranian naval vessels will sail through the Suez Canal for the first time since 1979 on Monday en route to the Mediterranean in a move that Israel has denounced as an attempt by Tehran to "broaden its influence".
Egypt granted approval Friday for two Iranian ships to transit through the Suez Canal despite Israeli government concerns. Iranian diplomats have stressed the ships will not be carrying weapons, or nuclear or chemical material.
Iranian warships did not cross the Suez Canal en route to Syria Thursday. Israel had stated that the ships were scheduled to enter the canal overnight and called the move a "provocation".
Two Iranian warships are heading toward the Suez Canal en route to Syria, Israel's foreign minister said in a speech on Wednesday, calling it the latest in a series of Iranian "provocations" that the international community has chosen to ignore.
Suez Canal 
