Egypt leader in Iran: World must back Syria rebels

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - In a sweeping message that Iran is on the wrong side of Syria's civil war, Egypt's new president urged the world Thursday to support the rebels seeking to topple Bashar Assad and suggested Tehran could risk a deepening confrontation with regional powers over the fate of the regime in Damascus.

The stinging comments by President Mohammed Morsi - making his first visit to Iran by an Egyptian leader since the 1979 Islamic Revolution - was another blindside blow for Iran as host of an international gathering of so-called nonaligned nations.

His speech, delivered while seated next to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, prompted Syria's delegation to walk out of the gathering.

Iran's leaders have claimed the weeklong meeting, which wraps up Friday, displayed the futility of Western attempts to isolate the country over its nuclear program.

But Iran also was forced to endure criticism from Morsi and another high-profile guest, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who cited concerns about Iran's human rights record and called its condemnations of Israel unacceptable.

It's highly unlikely Iran would abandon Assad as long as there is a chance for him - or at least the core of his regime - to hang on. Iran counts on Syria as a strategic outlet to the Mediterranean and a conduit to its anti-Israeli proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.

But the meeting highlighted how much Iran is out of step with the rest of the region over Syria. Other major rebel backers at the conference included Gulf states led by Iran rival Saudi Arabia.

"The bloodshed in Syria is the responsibility of all of us and will not stop until there is real intervention to stop it. The Syrian crisis is bleeding our hearts," Morsi told delegates at the 120-nation Nonaligned Movement, a Cold War-era group of mostly developing nations that Tehran seeks to transform into a powerful bloc to challenge Western influence.

A major effort by Iran has been trying to showcase its nuclear narrative and cementing oil deals and trade with Asia and Africa to offset the hits from Western sanctions.

But some critics question whether the group - promoted as a third way for developing nations during the decades of Washington-Moscow brinksmanship - is too diverse and splintered by too many divisions, such as Syria, to find any common policies.

"Morsi's comments violated the traditions of the summit and are considered interference in Syrian internal affairs," said Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, who headed the Syrian delegation. He also accused Morsi of "instigating bloodshed in Syria," according to quotes reported by the state-owned Al-Ikhbariya TV. He didn't elaborate.

Morsi's address pushed Iran further into a corner. In effect, he demanded Iran join the growing anti-Assad consensus or risk deeper estrangement from Egypt and other regional heavyweights such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia.