The Kingdom recently permitted two Iranian ships to anchor at Jeddah Islamic Seaport following well-established international norms and traditions practiced by marine forces in seaports all over the world. The approval for the docking of the ships was granted out of the Kingdom's keenness to maintain friendly relations with all the countries of the world and based on the principle of good intentions. The Kingdom gave its approval based on an Iranian request which stated that the ships were on a training mission and that there were cadets on board the vessels. Regrettably, as has happened before, Iran demonstrated its ability to show that it has two faces. After receiving the Kingdom's approval, the Iranian ships anchored in Jeddah Islamic Seaport and then after leaving the seaport, they passed through the Suez Canal and entered the Mediterranean. It was at that point that Iran bragged and boasted in the international media that the real mission of the two ships was to show the strength and power of its armed forces and to demonstrate that Iranian ships can freely sail through the waters of the region and anchor in any of its seaports. This statement made by the Iranian marine commander shows that Iran's foreign policy is based upon deceit and deception. Iran gave one reason for its request for approval to anchor its ships in the Kingdom's port and then turned around and announced something else to the world. It is clear that Iranian policy is based on bragging, boasting and duplicity, while the Kingdom's policy is based on respect for international norms and traditions. Iranian officials should realize that their ships would never have been permitted to approach one of the Kingdom's ports if they had not falsely claimed that the ships were on a training mission. __
