Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says countries in the Middle East have the potentials to turn into the world's political and economic powerhouses. “If all the countries in the Middle East join hands, they can take control of the major political and economic centers in the world as they have the required potentials and facilities” to achieve the objective, President Ahmadinejad said at a Thursday meeting with a group of Egyptian female activists and intellectuals in the Iranian capital city, Tehran. The Iranian chief executive argued, “Poverty and injustice will be definitely eliminated if the regional and world nations unite, however, the enemies make efforts to cause rift among nations in order to achieve their evil objectives.” Ahmadinejad described the popular uprisings across the Arab world and the spreading global anti-capitalism movements as “a historic opportunity to salvage humanity” so nations could proceed to eradicate inequalities and establish justice in the world. Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian president made reference to Iran-Egypt cultural and historical commonalities and emphasized that the two countries should use such potentials to further enhance mutual ties. He warned that 'colonial powers' seek to strain amicable relations between Tehran and Cairo by means of “coercion” and “discord” between the two countries. The Egyptian delegation praised Iran's position in the regional and global arena and highlighted the importance of Tehran-Cairo ties to counter Israel and the “global hegemonic powers.” In Egypt, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces took power following the ouster of former dictator Hosni Mubarak on February 11 when massive protests ended his 30-year rule. Iran severed ties with the North African country after Cairo signed the 1978 Camp David Accords with Israel and offered asylum to Iran's deposed dictator Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In April 2011, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi called for the normalization of ties with Iran, saying Cairo was committed to improving long-frozen relations with Tehran.