CAIRO – Hardline Egyptians tried to break into a senior Iranian diplomat's residence in Cairo Friday in protest at warming ties with Tehran after a 30-year estrangement, but were repelled by Egyptian police. About 100 members of two groups demonstrated against Egypt's recent steps to improve relations with Iran, which were cut off after the 1979 Iranian revolution. The protesters tore down an Iranian flag at the residence in a Cairo suburb and briefly hoisted the Syrian rebel flag in protest at Iran's support to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's government before police removed it. Iran's charge d'affaires Mojtaba Amani said in comments carried by the Relations have improved significantly since the election of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi last June. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Egypt for a summit in February, the first visit by an Iranian leader in more than three decades. He called for a strategic alliance with Egypt and offered Cairo a loan as it faces a deepening economic crisis. – Reuters
