Egypt summons Iranian diplomat over criticism

The Egyptian government Wednesday summoned an Iranian diplomat to protest against the statements attributed to Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in which he criticized some Arab leaders for their participation in launching direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel.

Egypt's Assistant Foreign Minister Wafaa Basim summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires to ask him to provide clarifications about the statements published on Tuesday, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Iran's Fars news agency published on Tuesday statements attributed to the Iranian foreign minister in which he accused the Arab leaders who took part in launching direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians "upon U.S. dictations" of treason. However, he did not identify those leaders.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit was due to meet his Iranian counterpart in Cairo on Sunday according to reports by Egypt's official MENA news agency.

Source: Xinhua