Iran says talks to reestablish diplomatic ties with Egypt under way
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast to meet his Egyptian counterpart on sidelines of a Non-Aligned Movement conference in Indonesia.
By DPA
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday that talks to reestablish diplomatic ties with Egypt were under way and it was hopeful ties would be resumed soon.
Mehmanparast said Foreign Minister Ali Akbar-Salehi was to meet his Egyptian counterpart, Nabil al-Arabi, this month on the sidelines of a Non-Aligned Movement conference in Indonesia.
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Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, November 18, 2010. |
| Photo by: Reuters |
Before that, the two sides would meet at the deputy foreign minister level in Cairo, Mehmanparast said.
Tehran had urged Cairo to take a “courageous step” to upgrade diplomatic ties despite resistance from the United States and Israel.
Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak had rejected Iran’s overtures for 15 years.
Al-Arabi said in March that Cairo was ready to “open a new page with Iran” in the post-Mubarak era, but it has so far taken no concrete steps to restore relations.
Iran and Egypt have had no diplomatic ties since Iran’s 1979 revolution because of Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, but the two governments cooperate on diplomatic affairs at a non-ambassador level.
WarSclerotic 
May 10, 2011 at 1:17 PM
[…] Iran says talks to reestablish diplomatic ties with Egypt under way (via Sclerotic ) Iran says talks to reestablish diplomatic ties with Egypt under way – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast to meet his Egyptian counterpart on sidelines of a Non-Aligned Movement conference in Indonesia. By DPA Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday that talks to reestablish diplomatic ties with Egypt were under way and it was hopeful ties would be resumed soon. Mehmanpar … Read More […]