Iran and Egypt 'to restore ties'

Mr Mottaki said he was waiting to hear a response from Egypt

Officials in Tehran have announced that Iran is close to restoring full diplomatic relations with Egypt.

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that the relationship was "going ahead in a natural way".

The countries have not had full diplomatic ties since the Iranian Islamic revolution in 1979.

The announcement follows a recent thaw in relations, including a landmark phone call between presidents Mubarak and Ahmadinejad last week.

In their first direct talks, the leaders are reported to have discussed the Palestinian issue and other regional concerns.

Mr Mottaki said that Assistant Foreign Minister Ali Asghar Mohammadi had delivered a "special message" to Egypt's Foreign Minister, Ahmad Ali Abu-al-Ghayt.

There was no indication of what the message contained but Mr Mottaki said that Iran was now "waiting for our Egyptian brothers to express their readiness" to establish relations. BBC