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Iran and Egypt both refute reports about resumption of diplomatic relations (UPDATE2)

Iran Materials 19 April 2011 17:40 (UTC +04:00)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast refuted the report about the appointment of a new Iranian ambassador to Egypt, IRNA reported on Tuesday. He said the issue has not yet been considered.
Iran and Egypt both refute reports about resumption of diplomatic relations (UPDATE2)

Spokesperson of Egypt's foreign ministry's statement added (first version was posted at 14:54)

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast refuted the report about the appointment of a new Iranian ambassador to Egypt, IRNA reported on Tuesday. He said the issue has not yet been considered.

He named these rumors as the "press speculation".

Meanwhile, ambassador Menha Bakhoum, official spokesperson of Egypt's foreign ministry, has denied that diplomatic relations with Iran have resumed, reported Alahram.

Bakhoum told Ahram Online that Foreign Minister Nabil El-Arabi's meeting with Iran's ambassador Magbaty Amany did not touch upon this issue.

Bakhoum added that a decision to resume relations can only be taken with the approval of both parties. The ambassador's declaration came in the wake of Iranian media reports claiming that Iran had appointed a new ambassador to Cairo. This was later denied by Iran's foreign ministry.

"We will follow up the issue of appointing an ambassador to Egypt on the first possible occasion," Mehmanparast told reporters in Tehran.

According Press TV's report with reference to Mashregh News on monday, the Islamic Republic of Iran has appointed Ali Akbar Sibouyeh as the country's first ambassador to Egypt in over 30 years. Sibouyeh's appointment comes after negotiations between Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and his Egyptian counterpart Nabil al-Arabi , Mashregh News reported on its website on Monday.

The son of renowned Ayatollah Sibouyeh, the new Iranian ambassador, has held different positions in Iran's Foreign Ministry for 28 years. He headed the translation department of the ministry in the 90s and was subsequently appointed as Iran's chargé d'affaires in Tunisia, where he held the position for some four years, the report added.

His installation comes on the heels of the Egyptian revolution, which led to the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak and a thaw of relations between Tehran and Cairo.

Earlier in April, the Egyptian foreign minister called for normalization of ties with Iran, saying Cairo is committed to seeking to improve its long-frozen relations with Tehran.

On Sunday, the Iranian foreign minister and visiting Secretary General of Egypt's Amal Party Magdi Hussein called for the strengthening of ties between the two Muslim nations.

The post-revolution Egypt looks poised to turn a new page in its relations with the Islamic Republic as the Egyptian top diplomat, Arabi, said his country will witness a new phase in its ties with Iran.

Iran severed ties with Egypt after Cairo signed the 1978 Camp David Accords with Israel and offered asylum to Iran's deposed monarch Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

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