HARSH WORDS

Egypt’s President Slams Syria

While on historic visit to Iran.

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi on Thursday called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to transfer power, calling Assad’s regime “oppressive.” Morsi is in Iran for a diplomatic conference, and it is the first visit for an Egyptian leader since that Iran broke its diplomatic ties with Egypt after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. But Iran has remained a key ally in the region to Syria, although Morsi proposed the formation for a four-nation alliance between Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to end the bloody Syrian crackdown. Morsi also mentioned the ties between the Syrian rebellion and Egypt’s Arab Spring—considered the inspiration for a wave of uprisings in the region.