CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Saturday inaugurated a naval base in the Gargoub area on the northwest coast, near Libya.
The opening ceremony was attended by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Mohamed Al-Menfi, president of the Libyan Presidential Council, as well as other international leaders and officials.
El-Sisi inspected units at the July 3 Naval Base after signing the establishment document and raising the Egyptian flag.
Ahmed Khaled, commander of Egypt’s Naval Forces, said the July 3 Base was adding to the country’s growing capabilities within a comprehensive modernization program for the armed forces.
It was within the political leadership’s strategic vision to develop the armed forces, Khaled said, and the new base sent out a message of peace and development.
He added that Egypt was implementing a plan for progress after achieving victory over terrorism and extremism with the weapons of thought and comprehensive development.
He said the challenge was great and that factors of time, accuracy, quality, and good resource management were a strong element in implementing the comprehensive development plan for the armed forces.
The July 3 base is the latest Egyptian military base on the Mediterranean and, according to a statement from the presidency, it is designed to secure the country in the northern and western strategic directions, preserve its economic capabilities, secure maritime transport lines, and maintain maritime security by using combat groups.
It will launch centers for the logistical support of Egyptian forces in the Red and Mediterranean Seas to confront any challenges and risks that may exist in the region, as well as combat smuggling operations and illegal immigration.
A few days ago the Ministry of Defense said that July 3 and its facilities complied with the code of international naval bases.
It was an integrated military zone that constituted a launch pad to protect the nation along the strategic northern and western directions, it added.
It said the July 3 base would witness the Qader 2021 maneuver, which is one of Egypt’s largest military exercises.
Egyptian president inaugurates July 3 naval base
https://arab.news/gbray
Egyptian president inaugurates July 3 naval base
- The opening ceremony was attended by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan
- El-Sisi inspected units at the July 3 Naval Base after signing the establishment document
Israel says carrying out ‘large-scale strikes’ on Tehran
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said it launched “large-scale strikes” on Tehran on Monday, two days since the start of a US-Israeli campaign against Iran.
“The Israeli Air Force... has begun an additional wave of strikes against the Iranian terror regime at the heart of Tehran,” the military said in a statement.
Israel announced the new “large-scale” strikes, while President Donald Trump vowed to avenge the deaths of US service members and said the war could last for weeks.
In other developments:
• The European Union has warned of the cost to the Middle East of a long war, and said it was reinforcing its naval mission in the Red Sea with additional vessels as Iran’s retaliation to US-Israeli strikes threatens maritime traffic, a European diplomat said.
Two new French ships will join the EU’s Aspides mission, bringing to five the number of warships taking part, the diplomat told AFP.
• Gulf states vowed to defend themselves against Iranian attacks, including by “responding to the aggression” if need be, after the Gulf Cooperation Council convened via video-link to formulate a unified response.
• Top US officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio will make the case Tuesday to Congress for the attack on Iran. Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and military chief General Dan Caine “will brief the full membership of both chambers of Congress,” White House spokesman Dylan Johnson said.
• Container shipping company Maersk said it was halting passage through the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz for “safety” reasons.
The Danish group was the latest of several shipping groups to make similar announcements after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards declared the strait closed on Saturday.
• Seven people were injured in the Jerusalem area following the latest salvo of missiles fired from Iran, Israeli firefighters said.
• British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had agreed to let the United States use UK bases to fire “defensive” strikes aimed at destroying Iranian missiles and their launchers. But in a video address posted to social media, he added: “We were not involved in the initial strikes on Iran and we will not join offensive action now.
• Iranian media reported that a police station in a city on the outskirts of Tehran had been hit, killing an unspecified number of people, with others reportedly trapped under debris. “According to initial reports, a number of citizens were martyred and some were trapped under the rubble,” the Tasnim news agency reported.
• Iranian news agency ISNA reported that Gandhi hospital in northern Tehran had been targeted by strikes. The Fars and Mizan agencies published a video, presented as being from inside the facility, showing debris on the floor among wheelchairs.
