Jihadi Leader: US, Israel Striving to Impede Resumption of Iran-Egypt Ties

An Egyptian Jihadi leader said the recent rapprochement between Tehran and Cairo has profoundly worried the US and Israel, and called on Iran and Egypt to do their best to resume their diplomatic relations at the earliest.

Speaking to FNA in Cairo on Tuesday, Mohammad Abu Samra said that Washington and Tel Aviv are concerned about establishment of any relations between Tehran and Cairo and have sought hard to impede any such rapprochement between Iran and Egypt.

He called on the followers of various Islamic faiths to give up their minute differences for the sake of unity and solidarity among Muslim nations, and underlined the necessity for the resumption of ties between Egypt and Iran.

He reminded that the US is truly fearful of the emergence of an Islamic power in the region, “and this fear has pushed the US to set up military bases in Saudi Arabia in a move to strike a blow at Jihadis and it (the US) has declared this goal in a straightforward manner”.

Last month, a senior Egyptian politician underlined his country’s enthusiasm for the further development of relations and cooperation with Iran, and said delaying the resumption of full-fledged ties between Tehran and Cairo would be unjustifiable.

“There is no reason to justify the cut relations between Iran and Egypt, specially given the fact that the two countries share common interests,” Mohsen Razi, a senior member of the Freedom and Justice party affiliated to the Egyptian Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun (Muslim Brotherhood) party, told FNA.

“Iran is an Islamic country and we should cooperate with it in different fields,” he added.

After the collapse of Hosni Mubarak’s regime, the Iranian and Egyptian officials voiced their interest in the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries and Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi officially invited the then Egyptian counterpart Nabil Al-Arabi to pay a visit to Tehran.

Later, the Iranian foreign minister and his former Egyptian counterpart also held a meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

Also, during the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran late August, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Egyptian counterpart Mohammad Mursi conferred on ways to promote the bilateral relations between Tehran and Cairo, and stressed the need for continued consultations in this regard.

In a latest development, President Mursi in a meeting with Salehi in Cairo conferred on bilateral ties as well as the latest regional and international developments.

The issue of Palestine and Syria were among the topics dealt by the two officials.