* Iranian media says warships will cross the Suez Canal
* Vessels identified as frigate and supply ship
* Crossing throws new Egypt rulers into diplomatic spotlight
(Recasts with Iranian state media report)
By Yusri Mohamed
ISMAILIA, Egypt, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Iran appeared intent on Thursday on sending two warships through the Suez Canal in a move that Israel has called a "provocation", putting Egypt's new military rulers in an unwelcome diplomatic spotlight. Egypt, whose president was toppled by a mass uprising a week ago, is a close ally of the United States. Cairo has a peace treaty with Israel but its ties with Iran have been strained since the country's 1979 revolution.
Egypt's Suez Canal Authority said it had received no notification so far from the Cairo government that would allow the passage of the two Iranian ships. Approval from the defence and foreign ministries is required for naval vessels to cross.
"I have not received any notification up to now," Ahmed el-Manakhly, a member of the canal's board responsible for shipping movement, told Reuters.
Iranian state television said the two warships were due to pass through the strategic waterway -- the first Iranian military vessels to pass through the canal since Iran's 1979 revolution.
English-language Press TV quoted an official as saying the crossing would happen. "Two Iranian warships are to cross the Suez Canal. The vessels are on their way to the Suez Canal," he said.
Egyptian authorities saw "nothing wrong" with the passage of the two warships through the canal, Press TV said.
"Iranian officials were in contact with officials in Cairo to secure the vessels passage," it quoted an unnamed Iranian navy official as saying.
The Egyptian military, which has close defence links to the United States, has been governing the country since President Hosni Mubarak stepped down last Friday in the face of unprecedented mass protests against his rule.
'SPEAKING OUT OF TURN'
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Wednesday plans for the warships to sail through the canal en route to Syria were a "provocation". He had said the ships were expected to pass through the Suez Canal overnight on Wednesday.
Israel's state-funded Channel One television said Lieberman, a vociferous far-right partner in the conservative coalition, had spoken out of turn as the Defence Ministry "had preferred to ignore" the ships' approach.
It was not clear when the Iranian vessels were due to arrive at the southern mouth of the canal, which links the Red Sea's Gulf of Suez with the Mediterranean.
An Egyptian official had identified the ships as the Alvand and Kharg and said the vessels were near the Saudi Arabian Red Sea port of Jeddah. Shipping experts had earlier said the ships were the Alvand frigate and Kharg supply ship.
According to the canal's timetable, the northbound ship convoy starts entering the waterway from the Red Sea end at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) daily, the Suez Canal website says. Ships head south from the Mediterranean at other times of the day.
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported on Jan. 26 that Iranian navy cadets were going on a year-long training mission into the Red Sea and through Suez to the Mediterranean.
Syria is one of Israel's neighbouring adversaries. It has an alliance with Iran which has deepened along with Tehran's isolation from the West over its disputed nuclear programme, which the Jewish state sees as an existential threat. Iran is a sponsor of the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah.
The Suez Canal is a vital commercial and strategic waterway between Europe and the Middle East and Asia. It is also a source of revenues for the Egyptian government. (Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem, Writing by Tom Perry and Edmund Blair, editing by Peter Millership)