Iran is saying a new Middle East is emerging out of the turmoil in Egypt - a Middle East not friendly to the U.S. Following is a quote from MEMRI - The Middle East Research Center - a dispatch from a sermon in Tehran:
"In his sermon today, Tehran interim Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami said that in contrast to the U.S.'s dream of a new Middle East under its domination, a new Middle East based on Islamic principles is now taking shape. Stating that the popular uprisings in the Arab world herald the creation of "an Islamic Middle East" based on the religion and religious democracy - in contrast to claims by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that a new Middle East would be developed under the leadership of the U.S. and Israel - he underlined that this ongoing unrest is the aftershock of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. He added that the recent uprisings in the Arab world have Islamic support, as people poured into the streets with the slogan of "Allahu Akhbar (Allah is the Greatest)."
CNS News's Patrick Goodenough reported Iran's media is also hailing the Egyptian "Revolution."
"Media in the Arab world are generally reporting cautiously on the protests rocking Egypt following the shakeup in Tunisia, but those in Iran are giving the turmoil prominent, almost gleeful, coverage. Sunni Egypt, viewed as the leader of the Arab world, and Shi'ite Iran are longstanding rivals."
"Iranian outlets, especially those linked to the government and establishment, are using terms like "revolution" and "uprising" to describe the protests, painting the demonstrators as heroic and giving headline treatment to voices predicting the downfall of President Hosni Mubarak."