Street name mars Egypt-Iran ties

Street name mars Egypt-Iran ties

ASYUT, Egypt (AFP): A Tehran street named after one of President Anwar Sadat's assassins is a barrier to improving Iranian-Egyptian ties, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in remarks published on Monday.

"The presence in the Iranian capital of a street bearing the name of Sadat's assassin offends the feelings of Egyptians and is an obstacle to a return to normal," Mubarak said during a visit to Asyut on Sunday.

The street is named after Khaled al-Islambuli, an Egyptian Islamic militant sentenced to death and executed in 1982 for having taken part in the assassination of Sadat during a military parade on Oct. 6, 1981.

The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in showing its opposition to the peace treaty Sadat signed with Israel in 1979, named one of Tehran's main streets in honor of Islambuli after he was executed.