Ahmadinejad calls to congratulate Egyptian president

Iranian leader invites Mohammed Morsi to Tehran for meeting of Non-Aligned Movement

By Sam Ser 5 July 2012, 4:42 am

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Egypt's President-elect Mohammed Morsi waves to his supporters following Friday prayers at Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo Friday (photo credit: Amr Nabil/AP)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called new Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday to congratulate the Islamist candidate on his victory, Egypt’s official media reported.

Middle East News Agency also said that Ahmadinejad invited Morsi to the annual meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement, to be held in Tehran next month.

Although Egyptian and Lebanese media reported Tuesday that Morsi had accepted an invitation to the conference — Iranian media also trumpeted the announcement — MENA noted that no decision had yet been made.

Last week, Morsi denied an Iranian report that said he wanted to strengthen ties with Iran. The Iranian Fars News Agency claimed to have interviewed him, and quoted him saying, “This will create a balance of pressure in the region, and this is part of my program.” The same article also claimed he had said he would reconsider the peace treaty with Israel.

Egypt’s Al-Ahram, citing the official MENA news agency, quoted Morsi’s spokesman as saying that Morsi had not granted an interview to Fars and that everything printed in the article was “without foundation.”