Rouhani Urges End to Crackdown on Egyptian Protesters

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged the Egyptian army to stop suppressing people’s protests.
“I need to remind the Egyptian army that the great Egyptian nation is a freedom-seeking nation; do not repress them,” Rouhani said, addressing the Iranian parliament’s session on Thursday.

“I have to offer my condolences to the great Egyptian nation over brutalities they have suffered, and sympathize with them,” the Iranian president added.

Rouhani said that the Egyptian nation is treading the path of democracy and Islam and “the entire world should respect the path of the Egyptian people”.

Since July 3, tension has intensified in Egypt when the Egyptian army removed former President Mohamed Mursi from power, suspended the constitution and dissolved the parliament.

On Wednesday, the Egyptian security forces moved into clear out two camps set up by Mursi’s supporters – one near the Rabaah al-Adawiya Mosque in Nasr City and a smaller one in al-Nahda Square in Giza.

Egypt’s Health Ministry says at least 525 people were killed and 3,600 injured in the violence. The Egyptian Interior Ministry also said 43 policemen were among the dead.

However, the Muslim Brotherhood put the death toll far higher, saying more than 2,000 people had died in the police crackdown.