- Gulf states expel Syrian ambassadors
Gulf Arab states decided to expel Syrian ambassadors from their countries... - Iraqi police to assume responsibility for local security in July
Iraqi army forces will withdraw from all cities and the capital on July 1s... - Police arrest four suspected al-Qaeda members in Diwaniya
Four suspected members of al-Qaeda in Iraq were arrested in a security ope... - Al-Qaeda's 'second-in-command' in Ninawa arrested
Muflih Marzouq al-Khaylani, al-Qaeda's second-in-command in Ninawa, was ar... - Election will provide solution to political crisis: Yemeni vice...
The presidential election scheduled for February 21st will provide a solut... - Iraqi police discover car bomb workshop in Kirkuk
Iraqi police in Kirkuk province found a workshop for making car bombs, imp... - Jordanian airline suspends flights to European and Gulf cities
Royal Jordanian Airlines announced Tuesday (February 7th) that it will sus...
Egypt opposes Iran having nuclear weapons
 ِForeign Minister Gheit stands next to France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner at a press conference on Nov. 4 in Marseille. (Photo by Gerard Julien/AFP/Getty Images) |
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that his country stands with the international community on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Assistant to the Foreign Ministry Wafaa Besim read a statement by Gheit confirming Egypt's position to the Egyptian Council for Foreign Relations at their Dec. 3 meeting in Cairo. It also noted that Egypt opposes taking military action against the Islamic Republic.
The statement added that Egypt, which announced the resumption of its own nuclear energy programme in 2007, supports and endorses the right of all countries to obtain nuclear power when it is used exclusively for peaceful purposes. It went on to say that Egypt supports a diplomatic approach to Iran so long as it "does not apply double standards when dealing with the nuclear issue in the Middle East."
The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons, but Iran insists that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only. The first Iranian nuclear plant, which was built through assistance and financing provided by Russia, is scheduled to open in 2009.
The head of the Nuclear Energy Agency of Iran issued a statement on Nov. 30 offering his country's help in building light-water plants to generate nuclear energy in Arab countries, but most Arab countries have doubts about Iran's true intentions and did not respond immediately to the offer.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies in London recently reported that since February 2006, 13 Middle Eastern countries have resumed their nuclear programmes whether newly declared or pre-existing, which some analysts believe is an attempt to curb the growing regional influence of Iran.
[Daily News Egypt, AP]
In the Spotlight
Al-Qaeda's funding sources drying up
Al-Qaeda's regular sources of funding seem to be disappearing after the death of Osama bin Laden an...
Join the discussion
RSS Feeds