Egypt Summons Iran Envoy Over Crackdown Comments

Egypt has summoned Iran's top diplomat in the country to protest Tehran's criticism of clashes between Egyptian police and protesters.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on January 6 expressed its "total condemnation" of the remarks from Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said two days earlier that Iran was worried about the recent escalation in violence in Egypt, where at least 17 people were killed on January 3 in clashes between police and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood protesting the military's ouster of former President Muhammad Morsi.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty said the comments were "unacceptable interference in Egypt's internal affairs."

Iran's charge d'affaires in Cairo was told to tell officials in Tehran that Egyptian authorities "rejected" the comments and considered them to reflect a "lack of knowledge or intentional overlooking of the facts."

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP