Iran: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood fails to keep trust

A senior Iranian lawmaker said Thursday that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt failed to keep the trust that had been bestowed upon them through the vote of the Egyptians, Press TV reported. "What happened in Egypt was actually a soft coup staged by the Egyptian army, which was unfortunately the result of repeated mistakes by the ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood," Chairman of Iran Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi was quoted as saying on Thursday. The Iranian lawmaker expressed hope that the Muslim Brotherhood would adopt prudent political decisions, form a new political array and try its chances once more in Egypt's future elections. Also, another Iranian lawmaker said Thursday that the ousted Egyptian president was not fit for leading Egyptians as he failed to meet public demands, Press TV reported. 'Unfortunately, Morsi failed to give a good answer to the people's demands both on domestic and foreign levels, and this failure resulted in people's discontent," Hossein Sheikholeslam, Iran Majlis Director General for International Affairs, was quoted as saying. Sheikholeslam referred to the Morsi administration's ties with the Israel and his support for Sunni Salafi militants fighting against the Syrian government as major factors which eroded his popularity. Sheikholeslam, however, noted that Tehran does not approve of the rule of a military junta over Egypt and believes that the intervention of the army in the country's political developments must be temporary. The Islamic republic "calls for the Egyptian people's demands to be met only through legal channels and by holding free and broad-based elections to ensure the highest participation of people, parties and other political currents," he said. The Iranian official further expressed hope that sectarian strife would be avoided in Egypt and that people play a more prominent role in deciding the future of their country. On Wednesday, Egypt's armed forces ousted the Islamist-oriented Morsi, after the nationwide protests against him, and assigned Egyptian judge Adli Mansou to run the country for a transitional period. The military also put forward a roadmap for the transitional period, including forming a national government with broadened powers, suspending the current constitution and forming a commission to prepare constitutional amendments. At least 11 people were killed and more than 500 injured in clashes between the supporters and opponents of Morsi Wednesday overnight.