Iranian vessels carrying oil and wheat supplies to Syrian ports will henceforth be escorted through the Mediterranean after exiting the Suez Canal, Iranian and Russian sources reveal. A recent trilateral meeting took place between Russia, Iranian and Syrian officials to find ways of breaking the US and European blockade against Syria. They launched “a joint mission to improve multilateral coordination to secure the delivery of oil to Syria.”
The decision did not cite Israel although, according to a report last month from US sources, Israel had in two years attacked 12 Iranian tankers on their way through the Mediterranean to Syrian ports. Nonetheless, although the Russian mission openly referred only to the US and European i.e., NATO blockade, Israel will certainly heed the deterrent effect implied by the Russian naval mission and make sure to avoid tangling with Russian warships securing Iran’s shipments to Syria.