Cairo: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
has said that any move for handling of the controversial
Iranian nuclear programme will not be credible if it does not
simultaneously deal with the atomic capabilities of Israel.
In an interview to the Armed Forces magazine on the
eve of the 36th anniversary of October 6, 1973 war, Mubarak
also slammed attempts to insinuate that Egypt was adopting the
same stance of the West and Israel against Iran.
"Egypt is against any military attack on Iran although
it opposes some policies and trends adopted by Iran as well as
its attempt to serve its own interests at the expense of the
Arab interests and identity," he said.
He lauded US President Barack Obama for seeking to
hold dialogue with Iran, and said that Iran as a Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) member should prove that its
nuclear programme is peaceful and the western group should be
flexible as long as Tehran is signalling good intentions.
Mubarak, however, said that any international move for
handling of the Iranian nuclear file will not be credible if
it does not deal as well with the nuclear capabilities of
Israel which is a non-NPT member and whose facilities are not
committed to the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards
regime.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, October 03, 2009, 23:54