Posted: 09/01/2012 at 7:00pm | IP Logged

Egypt's President Morsi Aligning with Iran?

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CBNnews.com

Egypt's new president, Mohammed Morsi, is in Iran Thursday for the Nonaligned Movement Summit.

The summit is meant to serve as platform for the 16 self-described non-allied nations in attendance to air their anti-Western grievances. Topics included nuclear arms and the civil war in Syria.

In an apparent show of support for Iran, Morsi said it was a nation's right to develop nuclear energy as long as it was in keeping with international protocols.

What does Morsi's visit to Iran represent? CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell has more, on the video.

Morsi's visit is the first by an Egyptian leader to the Islamic Republic in more than 30 years. It represents a major step in the relationship between the two countries.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was also in attendance, called Tehran to cooperate with the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency in giving the agency greater access to its nuclear sites.

He also denounced the ongoing anti-Israel rhetoric coming out of the Islamic regime.

"I strongly reject threats by any member states to destroy another or outrageous attempt to deny historical facts such as the Holocaust, claiming that another state, Israel, does not have the right to exist or describing it in racist terms," Ban said.