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| Egyptian Tourism Minister Hisham Zazou |
Egypt’s tourism relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran has been suspended over “national security” reasons, Egyptian Tourism Minister Hisham Zazou says.
“The suspension of tourism with Iran is related to national security," the Egyptian state television quoted Zazou as saying on Tuesday.
"At the moment, the security situation does not allow the ministry to support travel with Iran, including flights and tourist visits," Egyptian Tourism Ministry spokeswoman Rasha Azaizi also said later on Tuesday.
Direct air travel between Iran and Egypt had come to a halt after the two countries severed bilateral relations following Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Tehran and Cairo, however, moved to improve ties under the presidency of ousted Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi.
The first commercial flight from Egypt to Iran in more than three decades took off from the Cairo airport for the Iranian capital city, Tehran, in March.
The two countries had signed a memorandum of understanding earlier in March to boost cooperation in the tourism sector.
In February, Egypt's Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou signed an agreement on operating non-stop flights between the two countries during a visit to Iran.
Following Morsi’s ouster in July, however, Egypt stopped flights from Tehran to “re-evaluate our tourism programs with Iran.”
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