U.S. worried about improvement of Iran-Egypt ties: Iranian FM official

TEHRAN,Sept.19(MNA) – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said that certain Western countries, particularly the United States, are worried about the improvement of relations between Iran and Egypt. Mehmanparast made the remarks during his regular press briefing in Tehran on Tuesday in reply to a question about an AP story published on September 10 which said that Egypt had offered Iran a number of incentives to persuade it to withdraw its support for the Syrian government. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said that U.S. media outlets make every effort to undermine Iran’s achievements, including its successful holding of the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, which was held in Tehran from August 26 to 31. He added, “The fact that a dictator subservient to the United States in Egypt, who had served the interests of the Zionist regime, and that a democratically elected person came to power has paved the way for the expansion of cooperation, and this has upset and worried Western countries, particularly U.S. officials, who take such measures to divert attention from good issues between the two countries.” ‘No talks held with Canada over interests section issue’ Mehmanparast also replied to a question about the fact that Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird announced on Monday that Italy had agreed to represent Canada in Tehran after Ottawa closed its embassy in Tehran. Canada announced on September 8 that it had closed its embassy in Tehran. The Iranian official stated that formal negotiations must be held on the issue, and such a thing should be mutually agreed upon. Such negotiations have not been held yet, he added.