Iran supreme leader says he’d ‘welcome’ full diplomatic ties with Egypt; presidency websites hacked

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader says he’d “welcome” the restoration of full diplomatic ties between Egypt and the Islamic Republic. The comments Monday raise the prospect of Cairo and Tehran normalizing relations after decades of strain. Iranian state television quoted Khamenei’s comments as coming from a meeting he held with the visiting sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq. The sultan is an interlocutor between Iran and the West. Egypt did not immediately comment. Meanwhile, a series of websites linked to Iran’s presidency bore the images of two leaders of an exiled opposition group Monday, with others showing the pictures of Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi crossed out in an apparent hack.