CAIRO: Ahead of Egypt President Mohamed Morsi's visit to Tehran to attend the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit, Iran's Vice-President Ali Akbar Salehi said that the two countries are to restore diplomatic relations after more than 30 years. Salehi made the statements in an interview with Egypt's state-run Al-Ahram newspaper, saying that Tehran was looking forward to establishing relations of “friendship and brotherhood” with Cairo. “Egypt is the cornerstone of the region and has a special stature in the Arab and Muslim countries … and we want relations of friendship and brotherhood with it,” Salehi said, adding that Tehran hoped to restore “normal” relations with Cairo. “We will pursue this path and restoration of relations depends only on protocol measures.” Salehi said Egypt's “revolution opened a new chapter in Egypt's relations with the outside world,” adding that the Islamic republic would welcome Morsi later this month in Tehran. The two countries have been at odds since Egypt hosted the ousted Shah following Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution and Egypt's peace treaty with Israel.
