In an interview with Al-Alam News Channel on Sunday, Mojtaba Amani said that Salafists’ stand in rejecting normalization of ties between Cairo and Tehran is not the Egyptian people’s stand or even all the Salafi movement’s stand in Egypt.

Referring to the fact that Shiaphobia and accusations against Iran are baseless and that the attack on the residence of Iran’s chargé d'affaires does not reflect the viewpoint of the Egyptian people and Salafists, Amani said, “I have contacted some Salafi sheikhs, including Hazim Abu Ismail, who stressed that they have no problem with Iranian tourists in Egypt and with Cairo-Tehran ties.”

“Some people might follow the Saudi, American, and Zionist plots, because they are after impeding the improvement and development of Cairo-Tehran ties, aiming to bring Egypt to its knees and to force it to meet their demands” Iran’s chargé d'affaires in Egypt added.

He deemed it unlikely that such acts would affect Iran-Egypt ties and said that he will try to enlighten the minds of those who oppose relations with Iran and to avoid them being trapped in Zionist plots.

“Shiite Iran is a support for Sunni Egypt and also Sunni Egypt is a support for Shiite Iran through regional cooperation in line with the interests of all nations and Muslim countries” Amani emphasized.

Some Egyptian Salafists gathered outside the residence of Iran’s chargé d'affaires in Cairo on Friday to protest against the resumption of tourism between Egypt and Iran.

Protestors chanted slogans against the Egyptian president and head of Muslim Brotherhood, Muhammad Morsi. They were holding placards reading “No to the presence of Shiite Iranians in Egypt”.

Saudi-affiliated Salafists chanted such slogans while they have not objected the presence of Israeli tourists in Egypt.

After three decades of severed ties, Iran and Egypt started receiving Egyptian and Iranian tourists last week by resuming Tehran-Cairo flights.