Iran Rejects Reports on Appointment of Egyptian Accredited Envoy to Tehran
News number: 9202242380 13:37 | 2013-05-20
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9202242380

TEHRAN (FNA)- Diplomatic sources in Iran dismissed reports on the
appointment of an accredited ambassador to Tehran by Egypt.

Certain Arab media reported that Egypt's former Ambassador to Iraq
Sharif Shahin has been appointed as Cairo's accredited envoy to Tehran.

In response, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi dismissed the
report, and said, "The news is not true and Egypt has no ambassador in
Iran."

"No consultations have been carried out between the two countries so far on
reopening embassies or appointing ambassadors," he told the parliament's
news website on Monday.

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 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 the latest development, Ahmadinejad met with Mursi in Egypt in January,
and reiterated Tehran's preparedness to resume ties with Cairo.

The two presidents explored avenues for the further expansion of mutual
cooperation between their countries during their Cairo meeting.