Although relations between Egypt and Iran strongly improved after Egypt's January 25 revolution, there are still many challenges that impede achieving notable progress, Iranian Ambassador Mojtaba Amani told Youm7 in an interview. Iranian Ambassador to Egypt Mojtaba Amani said that the Egyptians are hesitant to build a serious relationship with Iran due to domestic conditions and other priorities in the Egyptian agenda. Amani also highlighted foreign issues that impede progress. "The U.S. and Israel strongly oppose building relations between Egypt and Iran," he said. Amani also blamed regional allies of the U.S and Israel for preventing progress. The Ambassador added that there are also Arab countries that oppose improving Egyptian-Iranian relations, although the Egyptian leadership has denied any foreign pressure. Amani insisted that the Egyptian government make its decision independently. Egyptian political leadership during the Mubarak regime used specific issues to cut relations between the two countries, said Amani, but the Ambassador also said that the January 25 revolution changed Egypt, making it illogical to discuss the old differences raised by the former regime. Amani said the issue of personnel wanted by Egypt's security services had not been discussed since before Egypt's revolution, adding that that Iran refuses to surrender any defendant without holding fair prosecution to protect the lives of the innocent. The ambassador also criticized espionage charges against an Iranian diplomat from two months ago, describing the charges as an attempt to curb progress made between the two countries. He added that such efforts failed to achieve its objectives because the issue was dealt with appropriately. Regarding economic cooperation between Egypt and Iran, the Ambassador stressed that there are many challenges for building serious trade and investment ties between the two countries. He said officials of the former regime had relations with American companies, so Washington seized the opportunity to pressure them to suspend economic ties with Iran. Amani said that the difficulty of obtaining visas is a main obstacle to improved relations, saying that visa restrictions have not changed since the overthrow of Mubarak and despite new direct flights between Cairo and Tehran. The ambassador has not ruled out the possibility of a visit from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, adding that he has expressed his readiness to visit Egypt with the Egyptian delegation that visited Iran recently. Amani considered the efforts of that delegation as a major contribution to improved relations. Amani also commented on Mubarak's trial, expressing Iranian approval that Egyptians took such a measure against Mubarak, who harmed the greater interest of the region, including Iran, citing the obstruction of Palestinian reconciliation talks as an example. He added that that the U.S and Israel were the first countries that refused the reconciliation agreement. The Iranian Ambassador said that the sanctions imposed on Syrian regime aim to pressure the “resistance alliance,” not to achieve the interests of the Syrian people. He added that Iran is convinced of steps taken by Bashar al-Assad's regime to achieve reform through holding a dialogue with the opponents. He requested that the Syrian people wait for the outcome of steps taken by the regime. Amani criticized the double standards of the U.S., which were obvious in the American approach to Bahrain's demonstrations. Amani criticized inaccurate information published by Saudi and Arab media aiming to spread fears of the Iranian role. He also rebuffed accusations that Iran smuggled weapons to al-Assad's regime to suppress the demonstrators. He said that "we didn't support al-Assad against his people. There are elements that work to tarnish our images in front of the world."
