Azerbaijan, Baku Aug. 17 / Trend, N. Umid, S. Isayev
Iranian newly elected Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan has stated that Egypt's army should return to its previous position as balance maker in the country, ISNA news agency reported.
Dehghan made the remarks in his first work day as Minister of Defense.
"Unfortunate events in Egypt would undermine national power in this country," he said, adding that, extension of ongoing domestic conflicts will lead country to social and security collapse.
Dehghan argued that, extension of the instability in Egypt would form security hole in North Africa which would cause trans-regional forces` intervention.
Dehghan who has been qualified by Iran`s parliament as Minister of Defense on August 15 also has worked as Deputy Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics during Mohammad Khatami`s adminstration(1997 to 2005).
Previously, in a move to stop the ongoing violence in Egypt, the newly elected Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has requested the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to take role in the issue, as soon as possible.
Zarif made the remarks during his initiated phone talk with OIC secretary general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.
Zarif has condemned the ongoing bloody clashes of the people in Egypt, and called on for the violence to stop. He also requested Ihsanoglu to enter the negotiations with both sides of the clashes, and stop the violence.
On August 16, Zarif also spoke about his priorities as Iran's new Foreign Minister, the first of which was to help sides find common grounds to stop the bloody clashes.
Prior to that Iranian Foreign Ministry issued an official statement, saying that the current conflict in Egypt can fuel a civil war in the Muslim nation and jeopardize the interests of its citizens.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is closely following the ... developments in Egypt ... and stresses the urgency of remaining committed to a democratic process and using the means and tools of realizing democracy," the ministry said in a statement.
It added that the Egyptian-Egyptian clashes provoke violence in the country, undermine national unity and domestic solidarity.
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