Iran’s navy sailed two warships through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean last week — a message the West will ignore to its detriment.
The message was plain: As US diplomats blink in confusion, Iran is making clear its intention to establish a naval presence far from its home waters, a time-honored method emerging powers use to advertise their new status.
That was exactly the mission of President Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet a century ago.
True, though the deployment marks the first time in 30 years any Iranian warship has transversed the canal, Tehran hasn’t exactly been absent from the region: It has been smuggling weapons to client states and terrorists by cargo ship for decades.
In 2002, Israel intercepted the Karine A, a cargo ship carrying 50 tons of weapons bound for Palestinian terrorists. In 2009, Israel stopped an Iranian shipment to Hezbollah — some 500 tons of weapons, including thousands of medium-range rockets.
But while Israel can seize cargo from a weapons smuggler, there is no intercepting an Iranian frigate. Little wonder Jerusalem called the Suez move a “provocation”: The ships docked in Syria — which in and of itself sends an ominous message.
Disturbingly, the White House was mostly silent on the matter. A spokesman said President Obama was “aware” of Iran’s movements, but nothing else.
The State Department tried playing dumb: “I don’t know that we have any understanding at this point of what those ships are doing there or where they’re going,” said a press spokesman.
Then it tried talking the threat down: “It’s a non-issue,” said another.
Then it tried playing cute: “You’ll have to ask the Iranian government.”
The Obama administration has a lot on its plate these days. But avoiding what’s right in front of it is not an option.
Israel sees the threat for what it is: A “signal to the leaders of the Arab world who the new leader is in the Middle East,” as one minister said last week.
Iran, always a circling shark, smells blood in the water.
Whether the United States can summon the wherewithal to deal with the threat is an open question.
Certainly, President Obama’s policy of “constructive engagement” in foreign affairs is looking a little ridiculous right now.