Ships from Iran’s 18th fleet cross Suez Canal, dock in Syria for second time in a year, Mehr reports.

Two Iranian warships that passed through the Suez Canal earlier this week docked in Syria on Saturday, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

The ships from Iran’s 18th fleet – which is comprised of a Khark supplier and Shahid Naqdi destroyers – had stopped in Jedda, Saudi Arabia earlier this month, according to Iran’s state Press TV.

Earlier Saturday, Iranian Admiral Habibollah Sayari told a crowd of military leaders and naval personnel that the ships had crossed the Canal for the “second time since the Islamic revolution,” according to the Iran’s official IRNA.

Iran and Syria agreed to cooperate on naval training a year ago, and Tehran has no naval agreement with any other country in the region. Read more.

Lawmakers in Congress have joined the fight to save an Iranian Christian pastor who has been sentenced to death for refusing to renounce his faith.

A resolution sponsored by Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-PA) denounces Iran for its leaders’ ruling of apostasy against Youcef Nadarkhani and calls for his immediate release.

“Iran has become more isolated because of their drive for nuclear weapons, and the fundamentalist government has stepped up persecution of religious minorities to deflect criticism,” Pitts told FoxNews.com. “The persecuted are their own citizens whose only crime is practicing their faith.”

Nadarkhani was born to a Muslim family and admits that he was introduced to the teachings of Islam, but claims he never accepted the faith. The charge of apostasy, which in Iran carries the death penalty, is leveled at those who abandon their faith. Read more.