Egypt postpones visit over comments

Egypt said Thursday it has postponed a visit to Cairo by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki after comments criticising the role of some Arab leaders in facilitating Middle East peace talks.

The head of the Iranian interests section in Cairo was summoned to explain comments attributed to Mr Mottaki in which he criticised “the participation of certain Arab leaders in the relaunch of direct peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis in Washington”. The ministry informed the Iranian diplomat that “due to this development” the meeting in Cairo on Monday of the Non-Aligned Movement “troika” – Iran, Egypt and Cuba – has been postponed, the ministry said.