Tehran [Iran], November 12: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stressed on Saturday that the country "sees no obstacle to expanding relations with Egypt."
Raisi made the remarks in a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on the sidelines of a joint Arab-Islamic summit on the Palestinian issue held in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Saturday, according to a statement published on the website of the Iranian president's office.
Describing Egypt as a "friendly country," the Iranian president highlighted the need for greater unity among Muslim states.
Turning to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, he said that the popular demand worldwide was for the opening of the Rafah crossing in Egypt so that supplies could be sent to the Palestinian coastal enclave.
Raisi blamed the United States and Israel for "stonewalling" the opening of Rafah crossing.
The Egyptian president, for his part, said his country had a political will to establish "real relations" with Iran.
To this end, relevant Egyptian ministers have been tasked with the mission of following up on the establishment of deep relations between the two countries, said Sisi.
Turning to the issue of Palestine, Sisi said Egypt had been harmed more than any country from the repercussions of the ongoing situation in Gaza.
Earlier in the day, Raisi also met Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and voiced Tehran's readiness to exchange diplomatic delegations with Khartoum and expand relations in different areas.
Al-Burhan also expressed his country's willingness to reconstruct and resume relations with Iran, which "will be in the interests of the entire Muslim world."
Iran and Egypt severed diplomatic relations in 1980. In recent months, both countries have announced a willingness to mend bilateral ties by settling differences on certain issues.
Iran and Sudan last month announced the resumption of their diplomatic ties, seven years after they were severed in 2016 following Saudi Arabia's move to cut ties with Tehran in the same year.
Saudi Arabia cut its diplomatic relations with Iran in January 2016 after the kingdom's embassy in Tehran was attacked. The storming of the Saudi Arabian embassy happened after the kingdom executed a Shiite cleric.
Source: Xinhua
