Iran ready to restore ties with Egypt

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that the country is ready to re-establish full diplomatic ties with Egypt. He told reporters at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport that Tehran’s “preparedness to reopen its Embassy in Egypt signals Iran’s good will.”

Asked about the comments he had made at a UAE press conference concerning ties with Egypt, the President said, “During a press conference in the UAE, an Egyptian reporter from the Al-Ahram expressed his concerns over the general circumstances in the Islamic world, stressing Iran’s and Egypt’s significant role in alleviating this situation. The reporter remarked that the absence of relations between Iran and Egypt would deter the regional states from pooling their capacities and improving their affairs.”

“The reporter said that Iran should take the lead in re-establishing ties with Egypt. I responded that we are ready to reopen our embassy in Egypt whenever the Egyptian government is prepared,” Ahmadinejad reiterated.

The President said, “Iran and Egypt are two civilized, influential countries in the Islamic world.”

“We have no problems with any of the countries in the world. If we don’t have ties with the Israeli regime, that’s because we don’t recognize its legitimacy,” he noted.

“The case of Iran-US relations is different from that of the Zionist regime. If the US changes its behavior towards Iran, the problem will be resolved,” President Ahmadinejad added.

Tehran severed ties with Egypt in 1980 in protest at Cairo’s recognition of Israel.