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.
© 2008 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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