Outgoing Foreign Minister Nabil al-Araby held talks with his counterpart in Iran on the sidelines of a conference in Indonesia, the Egyptian state news agency MENA said on Wednesday. Araby, the newly-appointed Arab League chief, and Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi discussed challenges facing the Non-Aligned Movement at its conference in Bali. MENA quoted Araby as saying that bilaterial Egyptian-Iranian relations were addressed during the meeting. “We told the Iranian minister that Egypt is opening new chapter with everyone and that it doesn't want any aggressions with anyone in the world,” Araby said. He said an exchange of ambassadors was also discussed, but that the Egyptian parliament should review this step first after September elections. Iran severed diplomatic relations with Egypt when former President Anwar Sadat signed the Camp David Accords with Israel in 1979 and then welcomed the ousted Iranian shah after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Relations have been tense for the past 30 years. Under the rule of former President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt had accused Iran of destabilizing the Middle East by meddling in countries' internal affairs. Iran also named a street in Tehran after Khaled al-Islambouli, who assassinated Sadat in 1981. Iran has accused Egypt of taking part in the Israeli war on Gaza in December 2008. Translated from the Arabic Edition
