Politically, psychologically symbolic

However, in the eyes of Ephraim Kam, deputy director of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, the passage of the two Iranian ships through the canal is more about Israeli- Iranian relations than Israeli-Egyptian.

He pointed out, according to the international agreement, Egypt may only deny access to the canal if the vessels belong to a country that is currently at war with Egypt.

Asked about the timing of the crossing, Kam said it was accidental as "this move was planned before the current unrest in Egypt."

"They were kind of testing the Egyptians and the Israelis, and if everything goes smooth from an Iranian point of view, we might see it again in the future," he told Xinhua.

According to Kam, the two ships by themselves don't pose a risk to Israel, but the main object of the passage is symbolic.

"The Iranians want to indicate that first of all they have a long arm. They go from the Gulf area to the Mediterranean via the Indian Ocean," Kam said.

As the ships are heading to Syria, Iran's main ally in the region, after passing the canal, "they want to indicate to Israel that they are committed to protecting Syria and Hezbollah in case of Israel planning to attack them," Kam said.

Israel and Syria still formally remain at war, though after the start of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process there have been attempts to conduct negotiations between the two neighbors.

Kam's views are partially agreed by Prof. Shlomo Aronson from the department of political science at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, who told Xinhua that the vessels so far present " minimal" threat to Israel but "it's a political and psychological move by Iran."

According to Aronson, both Israeli and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) fleets have the capability to deal with the ships. As the ships passed along outside Israeli territorial water, the Israeli navy was reportedly put on high alert.

What is taking place, as Aronson sees, is not so much a change in the strategic relationship between Israel and Egypt, but a change in Iranian intentions as the passing of the ships are seen by Israelis as an Iranian attempt to establish a presence in an area where it hasn't been for the recent decades.

Aronson added that Israel in the past has sent both naval ships and submarines through the canal to display its military capabilities, and that the Iranian decision should be seen in light of this and not the unrest in Egypt.