Iran says ready for defense cooperation with Egypt, Libya
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Xinhua, October 30, 2011
Iran's defense minister said Saturday Iran is ready to initiate defense cooperation with Egypt and Libya, Mehr news agency reported.
Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said "Iran is ready to initiate cooperation, but they (Egypt and Libya) should also call for it."
He said that Egypt and Libya are currently in transitional period, but there will be no problem for Iran to start cooperation with them in all areas including defense.
Commenting on the U.S. accusations that Iranian government was involved in a plot to assassinate Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington, Vahidi said it is an old policy which repeatedly takes new shapes trying to put pressure on the Islamic republic.
Vahidi also criticized the European Union(EU) for following U.S. policies towards Iran. The EU's support and imposition of more sanctions against Iran, is another link in the chain of the West's actions against Iran, he said.
The United States said on Oct. 11 that Manssor Arbabsayara, a 56-year-old U.S. citizen holding both Iranian and U.S. passports, and Gholam Shakuri, a member of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps( IRGC), were charged with sponsoring and promoting terrorist activities abroad, including a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States. Arbabsayara was arrested by U.S. authorities, while Shakuri remains in Iran.
The high-profile accusations have brought fresh tensions to relations between the two arch-foes, with Iran fiercely denying such charges.
