Iran's Ahmadinejad telephones Egyptian president over Gaza

Jan 22, 2008, 10:19 GMT

Cairo - In the first contact of its kind, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad telephoned his Egyptian counterpart, Hosny Mubarak, to discuss regional crises in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian state news agency MENA reported Tuesday.

The contact on Monday evening is the latest sign of a thaw in relations between Iran and Egypt, which have had no diplomatic ties since 1979.

The Islamic Revolution in Iran had severed its ties with Cairo to protest its hosting of the ousted Shah of Iran and the signing of the peace treaty with Israel.

Both countries have recently signalled their readiness to resume ties and exchanged visits by high-level officials, the most recent of which is a private visit to by former Iranian nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani.

Ahmadinejad himself said in a televised address in December he was ready for an immediate resumption of relations with Egypt.

Iran's growing influence in regional politics, especially in Lebanon and Iraq, has caused unease in Arab countries, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which see their regional clout threatened by Tehran's political ambitions and Islamic credentials.

Iran on Monday announced its readiness to host an emergency meeting in Tehran over Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said in his weekly press briefing that Iran would be ready to host an emergency meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) or attend at the highest level wherever the meeting was held.

Israel has tightened the closure it has imposed on Gaza since mid- June, after the Islamic Hamas movement took control of the strip.

Electricity to Gaza City and other Gaza Strip areas was cut after the supply from the main power station was halted by a fuel shortage imposed by Israel.