Khatami talks with al-Assad over Egypt

The Jordanian paper al-Osbo said that Iranian President Muhammad Khatami has approved during his talks with President Hafez al-Assad changing the name of one of the main streets in Tehran, known as "Khaled al-Islambuli Street."

In its Monday issue, the paper said that Syria asked for accelerating the convening of a direct meeting between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and President Khatami, adding that this meeting is to be preceded by a memorandum of mutual understanding to be discussed during a meeting held by the foreign ministers of the two countries.

The paper said that Damascus informed the Egyptian government of Iran's desire to improve relations with Egypt.

In press statements he made on Monday in Asyut, Mubarak denied any Syrian mediation between Egypt and Iran. But he praised President Khatami's moderateness, and criticized giving the name of the killer of President al-Sadat, (Khaled al-Islambuli) to a street in Tehran.