In this picture taken by semi-official Mehr News Agency, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, left, looks on as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, confers with Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, center, and an unidentified man at summit of the Nonaligned Movement as in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Raouf Mohseni, Mehr News Agency) Photo: Raouf Mohseni, Associated Press / SF
Tehran -- In a sweeping message that Iran is on the wrong side of Syria's civil war, Egypt's new president urged the world Thursday to support the rebels seeking to topple Bashar Assad and suggested that Tehran could risk a deepening confrontation with regional powers over the fate of the government in Damascus.
The stinging comments by President Mohammed Morsi - making his first visit to Iran by an Egyptian leader since the 1979 Islamic Revolution - was another blindside blow for Iran as host of an international gathering of nonaligned nations.
His speech, delivered while seated next to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, prompted Syria's delegation to walk out of the gathering.
Iran's leaders have insisted that the weeklong meeting, which wraps up Friday, displayed the futility of Western attempts to isolate the country over its nuclear program.
But Iran also was forced to endure criticism from Morsi and another high-profile guest, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who cited concerns about Iran's human rights record and called its condemnations of Israel unacceptable.
It's highly unlikely that Iran would abandon Assad as long as there is a chance for him - or at least the core of his regime - to hang on. Iran counts on Syria as a strategic outlet to the Mediterranean and a conduit to its anti-Israeli proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.
But the meeting highlighted how much Iran is out of step with the rest of the region over Syria. Other major rebel backers at the conference included Persian Gulf states led by Iran rival Saudi Arabia.
The stinging comments by President Mohammed Morsi - making his first visit to Iran by an Egyptian leader since the 1979 Islamic Revolution - was another blindside blow for Iran as host of an international gathering of nonaligned nations.
His speech, delivered while seated next to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, prompted Syria's delegation to walk out of the gathering.
Iran's leaders have insisted that the weeklong meeting, which wraps up Friday, displayed the futility of Western attempts to isolate the country over its nuclear program.
But Iran also was forced to endure criticism from Morsi and another high-profile guest, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who cited concerns about Iran's human rights record and called its condemnations of Israel unacceptable.
It's highly unlikely that Iran would abandon Assad as long as there is a chance for him - or at least the core of his regime - to hang on. Iran counts on Syria as a strategic outlet to the Mediterranean and a conduit to its anti-Israeli proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.
But the meeting highlighted how much Iran is out of step with the rest of the region over Syria. Other major rebel backers at the conference included Persian Gulf states led by Iran rival Saudi Arabia.
