Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi arrived Thursday in Tehran to attend the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned countries, making the first visit by an Egypt head of state since the Iranian revolution of 1979, which was followed by a rupture between the two countries , media reported.
Mohamed Morsi will take over from Iran as the President of the Non-Aligned Movement during the visit at which no bilateral meeting with the Iranian leadership has so far been officially announced. This visit expected to last "few hours" in the Iranian capital, came as Morsi is returning from a trip to China. The visit will be devoted entirely to the summit of Non-Aligned Movement, according to the spokesman of Mohamed Morsi, Yasser Ali. "No other issue is expected," he said, dismissing suggestions that the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries is on the agenda.
The Iranian Arabic Al-Alam television channel, however, said Thursday morning, without citing sources, that the Egyptian leader will meet the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to discuss "regional developments, the Islamic awakening and bilateral relations."
Iran has repeatedly expressed its bid to achieve normalization in the relations with Egypt since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, but Cairo has so far shown no willingness to respond.
Egypt and Iran are divided over the Syrian crisis. Morsi called for a regime change in Damascus, a staunch ally of Iran. However, Morsi has welcomed the idea of a regional quadripartite committee to seek a solution to the Syrian crisis, including Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
