Egyptian diplomat summoned by Iran

An Egyptian diplomat in Tehran was summoned to the Foreign Ministry yesterday to hear Tehran's protest to Cairo for stopping Iranian relief aid ship to Gaza.

During the meeting with the head of Egyptian Interest Section in Tehran Amr Ahmed A. Meguid El Zayat, the Iranian official voiced Iran's strong protest to Egyptian government's reluctance to issue the necessary licenses for the Iranian ship to approach the Gaza Strip to deliver its aid supply to the people of Gaza.

The official also protested violation of international law by Israeli warships barring Iranian cargo ship from approaching Gaza waters.

He said such moves by the Israelis took no one by surprise, given the long history of the human rights violations the Israeli regime has managed to register since its very establishment, but the Egyptian government's measures to prevent the Iranian ship from reaching Gaza could not be excused or justified.

Pointing out that the Iranian ship has been waiting in international water close to Gaza port as well as Egyptian waters for a long time, he urged Egypt to inform Iran of its final decisions regarding the issue the soonest possible.

Meantime, the Washington Post today reported that Egyptian officials said that Iran and its allies aim to cause conflict in the Middle East saying "(They tried) to turn the region to confrontation in the interest of Iran, which is trying to use its cards to escape Western pressure ... on the nuclear file," Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in an interview with Orbit satellite channel broadcast Wednesday.