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CAIRO, Egypt - Egyptian authorities have shut down the Cairo office of an Iranian TV network, a security official said Thursday, as the two nations spar over a film that justifies the killing of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat by Islamic militants.Authorities confiscated equipment and shut the office of Al-Alam TV on Monday because it was operating without a license, said the security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.However, the head of Al-Alam’s Cairo office, Ahmed al-Sayoufi, said the network has been wrongly accused of involvement in the production of the documentary about Sadat and that the steps against it were linked to those claims. "Assassination of a Pharaoh" has caused offense in Egypt because it portrays Sadat’s killer in a positive light and the former Egyptian president as a traitor for making peace with Israel.The film was produced by the so-called Committee for the Commemoration of Martyrs, which is a body backed by hard-liners within the Iranian government but not considered government-run.The film triggered a formal diplomatic protest by Egypt and could threaten recent steps to restore relations between the two countries that were cut three decades ago. Tehran cut ties after Egypt signed the peace agreement with Israel and provided asylum for the deposed Iranian Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.In Tehran, Hasan Abedini, the head of Al-Alam’s newsroom, told The Associated Press that the state-run satellite news channel has no link with the film. Nonetheless, all of the station’s news activities have been banned in Egypt, he said. Satellite customers in Egypt could still see the channel’s Arabic-language broadcasts.The film aired earlier this month at a festival in Iran along with documentaries about others whom the committee considers "martyrs."Khaled el-Islambouli was one of the army officers who fired on Sadat during a military parade in 1981. Egypt executed him by firing squad soon thereafter.The Egyptian government has condemned the film and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit summoned the Iranian charge d’affairs in Egypt. Sadat’s family has filed lawsuits against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the Egyptian Football Association canceled a friendly match with Iran because of the film.In May, Ahmadinejad offered to restore ties with Egypt, a strong U.S. ally. At the time, Ahmadinejad said his country was ready to open an embassy in Cairo as soon as Egypt agreed to do the same in Tehran. The Iranian president has since repeated his offer, most recently this month.But Egypt has also said that full diplomatic relations could only be restored if Iran takes down a large mural of el-Islambouli and changes the name of a street honoring him.By MAGGIE MICHAEL
PS:These Islamofacists in Iran are CRAZY........Ahmadinejad the first of them...Meanwhile their people SUFFER....
As in the days of Noah....
