Senior Iranian advisor: Morsi failed to meet people’s demands

Senior Advisor to the Iranian Parliament Speaker Hossein Sheikholeslam underlined that the ousted Egyptian President, Mohamed Mursi, was not fit for leading the Egyptian nation as he failed to meet public demands. “Unfortunately, Mursi failed to give a good answer to people’s demands both on domestic and foreign levels, and this failure resulted in people’s disgruntlement,” Sheikholeslam said on Thursday. The Iranian official pointed to the Mursi administration’s ties with the Israeli regime and his support for Salafi militants fighting against the Syrian government as major factors which reduced his popularity among Egyptians. “Mursi’s silence on the killing of the Shiite cleric, Sheikh Hassan Shehata, and a number of his disciples by Salafi extremists in Giza Province in June dealt the last blow to Egyptians’ trust in their president,” Sheikholeslam added. Meantime, he noted that Tehran does not approve of the rule of a military junta over Egypt, saying “The Islamic Republic believes that the intervention of the army in the country’s political developments must be temporary.” After days of massive anti-government protests in Egypt, the military overthrew the country's President Mohamed Mursi. Late Wednesday in a speech on state television, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the head of Egypt’s army, announced that Mursi was no longer in office. Police later began arresting key presidential aides and the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. Sisi also suspended the country’s constitution, saying that new parliamentary elections will be held. The army chief declared Head of Supreme Constitutional Court Adli Mansour as the interim president.