Egypt’s Morsi Upsets Iran
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi — whose brief trip here was criticized in advance by Israel and the United States — delivered a nuanced speech that targeted some US and Israeli policies but also adamantly backed the Syrian opposition’s struggle to overturn “the oppressive system there.” Morsi’s tough words in support of Syrian rebels unnerved his Iranian hosts — staunch supporters of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Iranian newscasters omitted key bits in televised coverage.
However, reporters listening to a simultaneous translation of the speech to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit heard the Egyptian president — who hails from the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood — refer a half dozen times to the struggle of the largely-Sunni Syrian opposition “for freedom and human dignity.” “Our solidarity with the struggle of the Syrian people against an oppressive regime that has lost its legitimacy is an ethical duty as it is a political and strategic necessity,” Morsi told representatives of more than 100 nations. “We all have to announce our full solidarity with the struggle of those seeking freedom and justice in Syria, and translate this sympathy into a clear political vision that supports a peaceful transition to a democratic system of rule that reflects the demands of the Syrian people for freedom.” “Our hearts are bleeding for the Syrian crisis,” Morsi added. “The bloodshed in Syria is hanging over all of us. It is our responsibility…We have to be totally aware that this bloodshed will not stop if we do not actively intervene.” He urged Iran to resolve its nuclear dispute with the international community and gently chided Tehran over its abuses of Iranians’ human rights.
Long-time Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moualem walked out of the hall in protest. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who sat next to Morsi on the podium, was stone-faced during much of the speech.
Morsi’s comments upset Iranian efforts to portray the summit as a largely anti-American affair and contrasted sharply with those of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei, who left before Morsi spoke, did not mention Syria.
Khamenei inveighed against the “Zionists” and repeated demands for a highly-unlikely referendum in which all inhabitants of Israel and the Palestinian territories — plus the large Palestinian diaspora — would participate to determine the area’s political future. Morsi, in contrast, called for a “just solution” to the Palestinian issue while criticizing Israel for oppressing Palestinians and mistreating Palestinian prisoners who, Morsi said, are “living in very difficult conditions [deprived of] all human and legal rights.”
Prior to the summit, Iranian officials bragged about Morsi’s visit here as defying the United States and Israel and a harbinger of the end to 30 years of Iranian-Egyptian hostility. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi*told*Al-Monitor*on Tuesday*that Morsi’s visit would be a “landmark”*even though the Egyptian leader was staying for only a few hours.
Morsi’s remarks suggested that Iranian hopes to restore diplomatic relations — severed after the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed a peace accord with Israel — would not be realized any time soon.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2012/al-monitor/egypts-morsi-upsets-iran.html
