Egypt launched on Saturday the first passenger flight to Iran in more than three decades, state- run Ahram online reported.

The Tehran-bound flight, operated by the private carrier Air Memphis took off from Cairo airport carrying eight Iranians including two diplomats, the report added.

On Feb. 28, Egyptian Tourism Minister Hisham Zazouz and head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the Iranian capital of Tehran to promote tourism cooperation, a deal on operating non-stop flights between the two countries.

The ties between Egypt and Iran were cut off after Iran's Islamic Revolution and Egypt's peace treaty with Israel in 1979. The two sides started to get closer after the 2011 unrest that toppled Egypt's former leader Hosni Mubarak.

Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi visited Tehran last August to attend the Non-aligned Movements (NAM) conference, becoming the first Egyptian president to visit Iran in more than three decades.

Then in February, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Egypt to participate in the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)