and entered the Red Sea last Friday. The next day, the Navy said those ships had rescued an Iranian oil tanker under attack from six Somali pirate boats 35 miles north of the Bab el-Mandeb, the link between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. In other words, the Iranian ships covered 1,500 miles from the Canal to the Bab, normally a three-day trip, in just a single day. They must have flown! Last month, the Navy said the ships foiled an attempt by 35 Somali pirate boats to hijack an Iranian tanker on February 5. But the Saudi government said it happily played host to the two ships in Jeddah harbor February 1 to 7.