Foreign Correspondence

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Iran says ship full of humanitarian supplies turned away by Israel Navy off coast of Gaza
By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent

The Israel Navy on Tuesday turned away an Iranian ship that was attempting to dock in Gaza in order to deliver humanitarian supplies to the residents of the coastal territory, Iranian radio reported.

Iran radio said that the ship departed from Iran 13 days ago carrying 200 tons of food and medical supplies.

The Israel Defense Forces spokesman said they had received no report of such an incident.

On Monday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said an Iranian ship had passed through the Suez Canal. On Tuesday, Iran radio aired an interview with Ahmed Nabad, said to be the ship's captain, who said the ship had neared the coast of Gaza but "the Zionist regime is blocking its entry."

When Nabad was asked if there is another route by which the ship could reach Gaza, he said the only other option was to dock in Egypt and deliver the supplies by way of the Rafah crossing.

Nabad added that senior officials in Teheran have contacted Egyptian officials to ask them for permission to deliver the aid by way of Egyptian territory.

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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055196.html