An Iranian lawmaker says foreign powers are pushing Egypt toward the brink of a civil war by meddling in the ongoing crisis gripping the North African country.
The interference of foreign powers in Egypts internal affairs has put this country on the verge of a civil war, said member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Evaz Heidarpour on Sunday.
Heidarpour said street protests to reinstate ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, and the Egyptian armys tough crackdown on protesters will not calm the country and will only increase conflict and bloodshed in Egypt.
Tension has intensified in Egypt since July 3 when the Egyptian army removed Morsi from office. The army also suspended the constitution and dissolved the parliament.
The Iranian lawmaker expressed concern about the divide in Egyptian society, saying all political groups must participate to end disputes in Egypt.
Egyptian [political] elites must place the country on the path of national reconciliation.
Egyptians launched a revolution against the regime of former dictator, Hosni Mubarak, in 2011, putting an end to over three decades of dictatorship in February of the same year.
However, Egypt plunged into a fresh wave of unrest following the military-backed overthrow of the countrys first democratically elected president. Hundreds of protesters, mostly Morsis supporters, have been killed or wounded during the unrelenting violence that erupted since then.
Supporters of Morsi have pledged to continue their protest until his reinstatement, saying that overthrow by the Egyptian army is a violation of democratic principles.