Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani said his visit to Cairo is "not in any way" connected to President Hosni Mubarak’s ongoing tour of the Gulf, which kicked off Monday, asserting that Tehran’s relations with Gulf States remained "good." Larijani also said he was not bearing any official messages to Mubarak from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
On the Palestinian issue, Larijani stressed that Israel continued to represent the primary enemy of the Muslim world. "Iran and Egypt have the same strategy vis-a-vis Palestine," he said. "Our only differences are in the means of implementation."
Economic relations between Cairo and Tehran appeared to receive a shot in the arm during Larijani’s visit when the two sides signed an agreement to establish a joint Egyptian-Iranian chamber of commerce.
"An Egyptian parliamentary delegation, headed by Egyptian Parliamentary Speaker Fathi Sorour, is scheduled to visit Tehran soon," Larijani noted. "What’s more, we have millions of Iranians who would like to visit Shia holy places in Egypt."
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
