Favorable Iran-Egypt ties need time

The establishment of favorable ties between Iran and Egypt requires time, as the internal situation in Egypt needs to be stabilized after the 2011 upheaval, Press TV reported Sunday, quoting Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman. "If we want Iran-Egypt ties to officially reach a favorable level, which is expected by the people of both countries, we should have patience," Ramin Mehmanparast said. "We are in a transition from a very low level of ties to a favorable condition," Mehmanparast said, adding that "for achieving this condition, we should pass through the stages gradually" and consider "Egypt's internal situation." On April 7, Egypt's Tourism Minister Hisham Zazouz decided to halt tourist flights from Iran until the second half of June, as Egypt was revaluating and reviewing the experience and tourist programs from the Iranian side. Egypt launched on March 30 its first passenger flight to Iran in more than three decades, carrying eight Iranians including two diplomats. A day later, an Iranian tourist flight arrived at Aswan International Airport in southern Egypt. The ties between Egypt and Iran were cut off after Iran's Islamic Revolution and Egypt's peace treaty with Israel in 1979. The two sides started to get closer after the fall of the rule of Egypt's ex-leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011.