Iran’s comments on countries’ ties raise questions: Egypt

CAIRO – 30 October 2017: Comments by Iranian Foreign Minister Bahram Qassemi raised questions, particularly regarding Egypt’s historic stance towards the Middle East and its stability, said Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid in a statement on Monday.

“Egypt always sees that the stability of the Middle East is one of its main foreign policy objectives. Maintaining Arab national security, safety and stability, especially in the Gulf states, is a fundamental pillar of the stability of the region,” Abu Zeid added in the statement, noting that Egypt respects the principles of non-interference in countries’ domestic affairs, good neighborly relations, maintaining national cohesion, renouncing sectarianism, and combating all forms of terrorism and extremism.

In his weekly press conference held Monday, Qassemi commented indirectly on Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s remarks concerning Egyptian-Iranian relations, saying that Egyptian officials should stay away from traditional visions held over centuries and realize the realities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“If they (Egyptian officials) reach this stage, then more opportunities for dialogue and understanding will be provided,” he was quoted as saying by Iranian Tasnim News.

During an exclusive interview with France 24 on October 24, President Sisi said that Egypt has no relations with Iran and is concerned only with Arab national security, which is threatened by Iran.

Egyptian-Iranian relations stalled since 1978, when Tehran severed formal diplomatic ties with Egypt for various reasons, at the forefront of which was the Camp David agreement between Egypt and Israel. Another reason behind the damaged relations with Iran is related to Khaled El-Islamboli, the army officer who assassinated Sadat in a military parade in 1981. The Iranian government subsequently named a street in Tehran after Islamboli. However, former President Mohamed Morsi took steps to resume the relations during his one-year tenure.