Egyptian FM meets Iranian official, says talks are "positive"

Jan 1, 2008, 15:29 GMT

Cairo - Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit met Tuesday with the former secretary of Iran's National Security Council, Ali Larijani, and described their talks as 'constructive and positive.'

'The visions are similar, and we've talked about common interests,' said Abul-Gheit in a press conference that followed his meeting with Larijani, who is paying an unofficial visit to Cairo.

Regarding the reopening of Tehran's embassy in Cairo, Abul-Gheit said that diplomatic talks should be thorough. 'I believe that the media is more in a hurry regarding this matter than the politicians and diplomats themselves,' he said.

Last week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Iranian national television Tehran would be ready to reopen its embassy in Cairo.

'If Egypt declared its readiness, we would even today be ready to reopen our embassy in Cairo,' Ahmadinejad said, adding, he would 'put the new Iranian ambassador on the next plane to Cairo,' if Egypt declared its readiness to resume full diplomatic ties.

Meanwhile, Abul-Gheit said his talks with Larijani are part of an ongoing dialogue between Cairo and Tehran to agree on all sticking points standing in the way of a full resumption of bilateral ties.

The two Muslim countries have had no diplomatic ties since the 1979 Islamic revolution owing to Egypt's Camp David peace treaty with Israel in 1978.

One of the main disputes was the naming of a Tehran street after the assassin of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, which Iran later agreed to change to 'Intifada (uprising) Street' in reference to the Palestinian resistance in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In return, Tehran wants Egypt to change the name of a street in Cairo, named after the late Iranian shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who is also buried in the al-Rifai mosque in the Egyptian capital.

Another hurdle would be Iran's stance towards Israel which Tehran does not acknowledge as a sovereign state.

Ahmadinejad and his government also vehemently oppose any peace initiatives with Israel and instead support anti-Israeli militia groups in Palestine and Lebanon.

During the eight-year presidency of Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005, Tehran tried unsuccessfully to resume full diplomatic relations with Cairo.

Many observers in both countries believe Larijani's visit, though formally announced as a private visit to cultural and religious sites in Egypt, is another bid to resume ties.

Ahmadinejad termed Iran and Egypt the two main pillars of the Islamic world, but said there were 'still some considerations' before upgrading ties with Egypt to ambassador level.

Abul-Gheit had earlier reiterated his country's stance on the current standoff over Iran's nuclear programme, saying Tehran should abide by its legal obligations as a member of the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty while reserving the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.