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               Iranian Media: Morsi Wants Closer Egypt-Iran Ties

   by VOA News

   Iranian state media reports say Egyptian president-elect Mohamed Morsi
   wants to strengthen ties with Iran.
   The semi-official Fars news agency on Monday quoted Morsi saying a
   closer relationship with Tehran would create a "strategic balance" in
   the region.  The two countries have not had diplomatic relations since
   1980.
   The report said Morsi's comments came Sunday hours before Egypt's
   election commission declared him the winner.
   He later gave a speech in which he promised to work for national unity
   and to uphold international agreements, saying Egypt "wants peace."
   Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, becoming the first
   Arab nation to do so. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has been a strong
   critic of Israel and has refused to rule out revising the treaty.
   Morsi called on all Egyptians, Muslims and Christians, to unite. He
   said this is the only way to get out of the difficult period since a
   popular uprising ousted longtime president Hosni Mubarak last year and
   left the military in charge of a chaotic transition.
   Morsi is the first civilian to be elected to the Egyptian presidency.
   The 60-year old U.S.-educated engineer ran for the post as a senior
   member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a role that landed him in jail in the
   Mubarak era. After being confirmed as president-elect, Morsi resigned
   from the Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party, in a gesture to
   other parties with whom he hopes to form a unity government.
   The military council has promised to hand power to an elected president
   by the end of his month, but it also has made a series of declarations
   in recent days stripping the presidency of most of its powers. The
   council has taken for itself key executive authority and claimed
   control of legislative affairs after dissolving the Muslim
   Brotherhood-led lower house of parliament earlier this month.
   The Brotherhood has rejected the military's actions, and Morsi's
   supporters have vowed to stay in Cairo's Tahrir Square until the powers
   are restored to the president and legislature, raising the prospect of
   a power struggle between the Islamists and the generals.
   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/iranian-media-morsi-wants-closer-egyp
   t-iran-ties/1246718.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/iranian-media-morsi-wants-closer-egypt-iran-ties/1246718.html