Canal on Sunday and be out by Monday. In fact, the ships are still waiting to enter and are now scheduled to traverse the canal on Wednesday. This despite the fact that Iranian TV says that they are already in the Mediterranean. What’s going on?
The Egyptians claim it was a matter of payment–the Iranians had not ponied up the $295,000 fee. Other sources report that a U.S. Navy flotilla had bottled up the Iranians at the mouth of the canal, and the Iranians have been loathe to force the issue. Whatever the reason, the Iranian presence does presage a new day in the waters of the Red and Mediterranean Seas (King Abdullah, apparently still irate over Obama’s treatment of Mubarak, allowed the ships to dock in Jiddah, and the ships will be home-based for a year at a Mediterranean Syrian port).
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.