Mursi did not discuss boosting ties with Iran

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi made no mention of resuming ties with Iran during a recent visit to Tehran, his spokesman Yassir Ali said on Sunday, denying statements by Iranian officials. “The meeting between President Mohamed Mursi and his Iranian counterpart (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad did not broach the subject of boosting the level of representation or of opening an embassy,” said Ali, quoted by the state-owned daily Al Ahram. Morsi’s attendance of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Tehran was the first time an Egyptian head of state had set foot in Iran since the two countries broke off diplomatic ties in the wake of the 1979 Islamic revolution there. The two countries have since maintained interests sections in their respective capitals. According to Ali, the two leaders agreed to hold “more dialogue to examine common affairs, including regional issues.” On Thursday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian told Iran’s Arabic-language broadcaster Al Alam that during their meeting, Mursi and Ahmadinejad discussed the Syrian conflict and their severed diplomatic ties. A top Revolutionary Guards commander said in comments published on Sunday that Iran plans to start a major military exercise later this month to test its air defence systems. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet on Sunday that Iran does not see international determination to stop its nuclear activities. The exercise was announced by Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili, who heads the elite force’s air defence command, amid rising speculation that Israel is weighing the option of a pre-emptive military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. “All of the air defence systems of the Guards as well as those of the army will be used in the drill,” which is planned to run from Sept.21 to Oct.21, Esmaili was quoted as telling the official Irna news agency. He told the Young Journalists Club, a group affiliated to Iranian state television, that his unit’s priority was protecting nuclear facilities. “The nuclear sites are our priority and most of the (air defence) systems, as well as covert defence units, have been set up around them,” he said. In addition to the air defence systems, fighter and bomber jets will be used in the exercise, which Esmaili said will simulate “unexpected scenarios” to test the forces’ crisis management.