The Egyptian Navy refused a US request to strike an Iranian ship loaded with weapons that was on its way to Syria through the Suez Canal, Lieutenant General Mohab Mamish, Suez Canal Authority chairman, said Saturday.
In an interview with private satellite Channel Al-Hayat, Mamish also confirmed that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces had objected to the presence of US ships at the southern entrance of the Suez Canal during the 25 January revolution.
The former SCAF member said that he is primarily responsible for the management of the Suez Canal. All the decisions concerning the canal, he said, whether political or technical, are up to him.
He assured that it is impossible for any state to engage in military operations in the Suez Canal because it is a very narrow waterway. He said the Egyptian Navy secures the waterway with great efficiency.
Mamish was appointed Suez Canal Authority chairman by President Mohamed Morsy, in a surprise reshuffling of military leadership. In the same reshuffling, Defense Minister Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, Chief of Army Staff Sami Annan and intelligence chief Murad Mowafy were moved into retirement.
