* Iran warships carry "message of peace and friendship"
KHARTOUM/DUBAI, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Two Iranian warships docked in Sudan on
Monday, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported, less than a week after
Khartoum accused Israel of attacking an arms factory in the Sudanese
capital.
Two people were killed after fire broke out late on Tuesday at the Yarmouk
arms factory in the south of Khartoum. Sudanese Information Minister Ahmed
Belal Osman said four military planes attacked the Yarmouk plant and Israel
was behind it.
Asked by Israel's Channel Two News about Sudan's accusations, Israeli
Defence Minister Ehud Barak said: "There is nothing I can say about this
subject."
IRNA said the helicopter carrier Khark and the destroyer Shahid Naqdi were
carrying "the message of peace and friendship to neighbouring countries and
were ensuring security for shipping lanes against marine terrorism and
piracy".
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said the vessels docked in Port Sudan
on the Red Sea and the fleet's commanders were scheduled to meet Sudanese
navy commanders.
Also on Monday, a fresh fire broke out at the Yarmouk compound, sending
white smoke into the air, two witnesses said.
Sudan's armed forces spokesman was quoted in state media as saying the fire
was caused by the spread of flames into different parts of the complex and
not by any "hostile action".
Sudan, with close ties to Iran and Sunni jihadis, has long been seen by
Israel as a conduit for weapons smuggled to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, via
the Egyptian Sinai desert.
In May, Sudan's government said one person had been killed after a car
exploded in the eastern city of Port Sudan. It said that explosion resembled
a blast last year it had blamed on an Israeli missile strike.
Israel declined to comment on the May incident or the 2011 blast, which
killed two people. It also neither admitted nor denied involvement in a
similar incident in eastern Sudan in 2009.
Iran said in June it had plans to build more warships and increase its
presence in international waters, particularly to protect its cargo ships
around the world.
Pirates in the Gulf of Aden in January hijacked an Iranian ship carrying
30,000 tonnes of petrochemical products to a North African country.
