CAIRO, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Suez Canal Authority denied on Wednesday the reports about preventing an Iranian oil tanker from passing through the Suez Canal, an official source in the authority said.
"Any report about Egypt's detention, seizure or prevention of an Iranian oil tanker from crossing the Suez Canal is baseless and incorrect," Tariq Hasanaen, spokesperson of the Suez Canal Authority, told Xinhua.
"Navigation in the Suez Canal is the right for any ship from any country," Hasanaen added.
He explained that the authority has the right to prevent the passing of ships only in two cases when the ship is carrying the flag of a county in war with Egypt or the ship could not pass the canal due to some technical problems.
Some 12 percent of the world trade volume passes through the Suez Canal which is considered the most important and fastest navigation passage connecting Africa, Asia and Europe by bridging the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
