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ElBaradei vows to restore Iran ties

11 March 2011 00:01 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Leading Egyptian dissident Mohamed ElBaradei says he plans to restore relations between Cairo and Tehran if he is elected president, APA reports quoting Press TV.

The Nobel laureate and the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Wednesday that he has decided to run for Egypt’s presidency.

ElBaradei said if he were to become president, he would restore relations with Iran, severed in 1979 by Tehran, in response to the US-sponsored 1978 Camp David Accords by which former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat recognized the Israeli regime.

ElBaradei also called for a new democratic system instead of the reforms Egypt’s military leaders are proposing, and said he would vote against the amendments.

"We are at a decisive period in Egypt’s history. We shouldn’t rush. Everything should be on a solid basis,â€ he told Egyptian private television channel ONTV.

The constitutional amendments proposed by Egypt’s military rulers limit presidential terms to two four-year terms. They also allow independents and opposition members to run.

In February, 18 days after the Egyptian revolution began, leaving behind over 300 casualties, former Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak handed over the powers to the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces, which is headed by Defense Minister Gen. Mohammed Tantawi.

The transition of powerd to the military came while Mubarak, former Vice President Omar Suleiman and former Prime Minister Ahmad Shafiq were all former military men.

Political groups in the crisis-hit nation are also calling for the establishment of a government led by civilians.

Egypt’s main opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, also insists that a civilian government must run the country until free and fair elections are held.