Iran resolute on restoring ties with Egypt

Iranian foreign minister has reiterated the resolve of Iran and Egypt to re-establish their bilateral relations following the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.

“The two countries have expressed their explicit willingness and interest to resume ties,” Ali Akbar Salehi said on Sunday.

Salehi added that Iranian and Egyptian officials are holding talks to open a new page in their bilateral relations, IRNA reported.

“I will meet Egypt’s Foreign Minister [Nabil al-Arabi] during my visit to Indonesia to attend the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit,” the Iranian foreign minister said.

The NAM foreign ministers are expected to hold a meeting on the island of Bali later in May.

Salehi said he planned to visit Cairo in the near future, adding that “both countries have an important position in the region and their cooperation will benefit the region and the Islamic world.”

On April 27, al-Arabi said the NAM meeting provided Tehran and Cairo with a good opportunity to discuss the normalization and expansion of bilateral ties.

The Egyptian minister added that the establishment of friendly relations between the two countries would pose no threat to the interests of Arab nations.

Tehran severed ties with Egypt after Cairo signed the 1978 Camp David Accords with the Israeli regime and offered asylum to Iran’s deposed monarch Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi.