Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Aboul Gheit confirmed that the warships had the right to use the canal provided they had no aggressive intent towards Egypt, under a a long-standing treaty.He would not comment on whether the manoeuvre was intended as a political signal.
An Israeli official said deployment of the two ships was linked to the Israeli navy's "recent activities around the Red Sea".
Shlomo Brom, of the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies, said: "I believe (the news) was likely leaked on purpose in order to signal to Iran that Israel has the capability of reaching them."