Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: Mohammed Morsi to be the president of Egypt... some foreign countries did not financially support the Morsi government during his one-year presidency; however, the same countries have pledged to provide $16 billion to the coup regime in Egypt

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: Mohammed Morsi to be the president of Egypt... some foreign countries did not financially support the Morsi government during his one-year presidency; however, the same countries have pledged to provide $16 billion to the coup regime in Egypt

    Sunday, July 14, 2013   No comments

“Currently, my president in Egypt is Morsi because he was elected by the people. Therefore, if we don't consider the situation like this, we would disregard the people of Egypt. Disregarding the will of the Egyptian people means disregarding yourself because in Turkey we respect the will of the people. We would respect the coup regime if they had won at the ballot box,” said Erdoğan at a fast-breaking dinner.

Stating that it is not the duty of the army to govern the country, Erdoğan underlined that the sole role of an army is to protect a country's borders.

“Why is there a ballot box? From the results of the box, a government would emerge through the will of the people and that government would govern the country. That government may be successful or not. If the government stops being successful, then the ballot box will come to the fore. When it comes to the fore, then you can say that the government has failed,” said Erdoğan.

Erdoğan underlined that some foreign countries did not financially support the Morsi government during his one-year presidency; however, the same countries have pledged to provide $16 billion to the coup regime in Egypt.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait have provided a total amount of $12 billion to Egypt following the recent struggles in the country.

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Egypt's energy crisis sparks conspiracy theories

Egypt's energy crisis sparks conspiracy theories

    Sunday, July 14, 2013   No comments

It is one of the first concrete changes observed since Mohammed Morsi’s ousting: power outages and queues at petrol stations seem to have miraculously disappeared. Speculation as to why is running rampant.
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Shortages in the past, shortages in the future?

On the other hand, Halime does not trust the explanation offered by the Muslim Brotherhood. “Intentionally planning shortages would have required a lot of effort,” she said. “If that theory proves to be true, it’s very worrying. That means that a whole group of people is responsible for the difficulties the country has been facing.”

Whatever the likeliest explanation may be, Egyptians may be celebrating too soon. Less than ten days after Morsi’s arrest, queues at petrol stations have already been reported at Beni Suef, in central Egypt, and certain neighbourhoods in Cairo have had temporary power outages.

According to experts, Egypt’s energy crisis is indeed far from being resolved. The sector is plagued by aging infrastructure and is supported by costly government subsidies (accounting for 6% of the GDP and 70% of all government subsidies).

“Egypt pays a lot for its energy and re-sells it very cheaply,” Halime noted. “The system more or less worked before the revolution in 2011, but it’s no longer sustainable. There were shortages in the past, and there will be shortages in the future.”

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Experts: Turkey should stop taking sides and refrain from using bitter political language while making demands for democratization in Egypt

Experts: Turkey should stop taking sides and refrain from using bitter political language while making demands for democratization in Egypt

    Saturday, July 13, 2013   No comments

Turkey, unlike other countries in its harsh criticism of the coup in Egypt, should stop taking sides and refrain from using bitter political language while making demands for democratization in Egypt, according to experts.
“Turkey shouldn't take a hard-liner position against any country in the Middle East. Countries cannot democratize with these kinds of measures. Democratization doesn't seem to be possible in Egypt for up to one, five or 10 years. That's why Turkey can't contribute to Egypt's democratization with flare-ups,” Professor Sedat Laçiner, the rector of Çanakkale 18 Mart University (ÇOMU), told Today's Zaman.

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“Turkey took a firm stance on the Syria issue, more strongly than it was supposed to. Ankara shouldn't be at the center of any fight in the Middle East. Turkey is a figure of reconciliation in the region and it should use its power on behalf of peace in the region. It shouldn't lose Egypt in the long term and should have a word in its future. If it takes a firm stand on Egypt, it won't have a seat at the table then,” said Laçiner, urging that further actions against Egypt may take Turkey to a point of no return in the Middle East.

Turkish analysts believe Ankara will not take such a firm stance towards Egypt; rather, it will stay engaged with the interim government in Cairo while refraining from measures that might harm bilateral ties.

Mehmet Şahin, a lecturer at Gazi University in Ankara, said that Turkey should not impose any sanctions on Egypt because of its economic relations with the country.

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Ankara goes back to the drawing board in an effort to better calibrate its Mideast policies following the shock of the Egyptian military coup

Ankara goes back to the drawing board in an effort to better calibrate its Mideast policies following the shock of the Egyptian military coup

    Saturday, July 13, 2013   No comments

Disappointed with the Egyptian coup that ousted its best regional ally, Mohamed Morsi, Turkish diplomacy is seeking to fine-tune its overall Mideast policies with particular emphasis on how the Arab Spring will evolve amid ongoing turmoil in Egypt and Syria.

Although Ankara has hinted at keeping up its current “principle-based stance” on developments in the region, such as objecting to the military coup in Egypt, the Foreign Ministry is pursuing adjustments in order to narrow the gap in opinions with regional administrations and better inform those countries about the keys to Turkey’s policies.

Ankara reviewed its Middle Eastern policy earlier this month at a meeting of Turkish ambassadors under the direction of Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu with particular emphasis on the coup in Egypt and the civil war in Syria.

In a 14-hour presentation and brainstorming session, Turkish ambassadors in the Mideast and in prominent capitals discussed how Turkey’s policies regarding the region, particularly toward Cairo and Damascus, are being perceived.

Davutoğlu asked the envoys to outline Turkey’s policies in a better and more frequent way, a participant told the Hürriyet Daily News, adding that those policies were “non-sectarian.”

“Turkey does not take sides with either Sunnis or Shiites. Ankara’s foreign policy is impartial, inclusive,” the minister asked envoys to stress when they return to their postings.

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Although they pretend to be neutral, the powerful Egyptian Army played a role in planning the ouster of President Morsi

Although they pretend to be neutral, the powerful Egyptian Army played a role in planning the ouster of President Morsi

    Friday, July 12, 2013   No comments

On June 30 millions of Egyptians protested against their president, Mohamed Morsi, in the largest demonstrations the country has ever seen. Three days later Egypt’s top general removed Morsi from office, saying the scale of the protests left him no choice.
But some leaders behind these landmark protests say they were in regular contact with the Army, via intermediaries, as they planned the demonstrations—and that it was clear their movement had the Army’s support.

In the days and weeks before the protests, Waleed al-Masry, a central organizer, was in regular contact with a group of retired military officers. These retired officers, Masry says, promised to protect the protesters who turned out on June 30. They said they were reaching out on behalf of the Army’s current commanders. “We didn’t ask them for help. They just offered it,” Masry says. “And we welcomed that.”

Masry was a key figure in Tamarod, or “Rebel,” the youth-led group whose campaign to collect signatures against Morsi snowballed into the protests that sparked his ouster. Tamarod’s leaders say they gathered 22 million signatures in just two months. While that figure is unlikely—and dismissed even by some of the group’s own organizers—signs of Tamarod’s grassroots success abounded as its campaign gained steam.

Teams of volunteers knocked on doors across the country. Many Egyptians downloaded Tamarod’s signature form online and passed it around. One organizer, Maha Saad, recounts working 16-hour days overseeing more than 400 volunteers tasked with entering all the names and ID numbers into a database. “It was crazy, really,” she says.

Even as the signature count grew and the protest plans intensified, however, many organizers knew Morsi would never step down on his own. Some admit that the more realistic aim of the protests was to inspire the military to step in—paving the way, they hope, for a smooth transition to fresh elections.

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The Perils of a ‘People’s Coup’

The Perils of a ‘People’s Coup’

    Friday, July 12, 2013   No comments

By KHALED M. ABOU EL FADL

THE Egyptian Army claims that it had no choice but to overthrow the country’s first legitimately elected president, Mohamed Morsi, and that last week’s coup reflected the will of the Egyptian people. It’s true that most Egyptians hated Mr. Morsi’s inept government and rejoiced at his downfall.

But Mr. Morsi’s fall does not bode well for the future of Egypt and democracy in the region. The army is following in the footsteps of Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Hafez al-Assad of Syria, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran, who shared a common trait. They all pointed to their supporters in the streets as the source of their legitimacy and perpetuated autocratic rule in the name of the people’s will. By stepping in to remove an unpopular president, the Egyptian Army reaffirmed a despotic tradition in the Middle East: Army officers decide what the country needs, and they always know best.

Traditionally, there have been two institutions in Egypt that have considered themselves above accountability: the military and the judiciary. Both have refused to answer to any civilian power.

Both are firmly rooted in the regime of the deposed president Hosni Mubarak; they are staunchly secular, authoritarian and corrupt. The army has assured the United States and the world that it won’t intervene in politics again after this coup. It has called upon all Egyptians to come together, to forget their differences, and not to seek vengeance.


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Mubarak's Old Guard Allies with Salafists

Mubarak's Old Guard Allies with Salafists

    Friday, July 12, 2013   No comments

Egypt's transitional government is moving forward rapidly with its plans to restore stability and hold new elections. On Tuesday evening, Hazem el-Beblawi, a liberal economist and former finance minister, was named temporary prime minister, while Nobel laureate pro-democracy politician Mohamed ElBaradei was named vice president. The latter was nearly named prime minister just days ago, but that move was hastily blocked by an Islamist party.

The announcement came less than a full day after the government had announced far-reaching decisions as to how the country would proceed following last week's removal of Mohammed Morsi, its first democratically elected president. The rules of the transition were defined by constitutional decree, and for the first time, a timetable was laid out. The Al-Ahram newspaper has even published a scanned version on their website.
The transitional government plans to keep things moving at a rapid pace, probably to outpace critics and quickly set new precedents. Morsi was overthrown just over a week ago, and has since been detained at an undisclosed location without contact with the outside world. Meanwhile, his supporters continue to demand that he be returned to his post, and have planned their latest protest for Tuesday evening. Leading members of the now-weakened Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement that backs Morsi's Freedom and Justice Party, have rejected the timetable, which would be used until new elections could be held.

The tight schedule is also meant to assuage concerns from abroad, where leaders are asking whether Egypt has strayed from its path toward democratization. The latest reaction from Washington was cautious -- the White House said it was taking time to review the situation.

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Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE compete for influence in Egypt

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE compete for influence in Egypt

    Wednesday, July 10, 2013   No comments

 Two of the Persian Gulf’s richest monarchies pledged $8 billion in cash and loans to Egypt on Tuesday, a decision that was aimed not only at shoring up a shaky transitional government, but also at undermining their Islamist rivals and strengthening their allies across a newly turbulent Middle East.

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Qatar, in alliance with Turkey, has given strong financial and diplomatic support to the Muslim Brotherhood, but also to other Islamists operating on the battlefields of Syria and, before that, Libya. Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, by comparison, have sought to restore the old, authoritarian order, fearful that Islamist movements and calls for democracy would destabilize their own nations.

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The Qataris suffered two other, lesser setbacks in recent days: on Monday, 22 journalists at Al Jazeera resigned en masse, citing what they said was the station’s biased coverage of the Brotherhood. Al Jazeera’s bias in favor of the Islamist group has often been cited as a grievance against Qatar’s rulers, who are accused of using the station as an arm of their activist foreign policy.

Also on Tuesday, Ghassan Hitto, the prime minister of the main Syrian exile opposition group — who was seen as favorable to Qatar — resigned. Although the reasons for his resignation were not clear, it was generally viewed as a concession to Saudi Arabia, which had signaled its discontent with him.

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Après l'Égypte, des appels à la "rébellion" lancés en Libye

Après l'Égypte, des appels à la "rébellion" lancés en Libye

    Monday, July 08, 2013   No comments

Des appels à la "rébellion" en Libye inspirés par le soulèvement en Égypte font craindre la contagion, poussant les deux partis rivaux dominant l'Assemblée nationale à reléguer au second plan leur rôle législatif pour ne pas être la cible des protestataires.

Plusieurs pages Facebook ont été créées, telles que "Mouvement refus" qui comptait dimanche plus de 9.000 membres, ou "Mouvement Tamarrod de la nouvelle Libye pour faire tomber les partis" (5.600 membres). Ces groupes réclament notamment la dissolution des partis et des milices armées.

Ils tentent d'imiter le mouvement Tamarrod (rébellion) en Egypte qui a abouti à la destitution du président islamiste Mohamed Morsi.

Les militants derrière ces groupes estiment que la lutte pour le pouvoir entre les deux partis rivaux, l'Alliance des forces nationales (AFN, libérale) et le Parti pour la Justice et la Construction (PJC), bras politique des Frères musulmans en Libye, paralyse les travaux de l'Assemblée nationale et retarde la rédaction d'une Constitution.

L'AFN et le PJC s'accusent mutuellement de s'appuyer sur des milices pour accaparer le pouvoir.

Le Congrès général national (CGN), la plus haute autorité du pays, issu des élections du 7 juillet 2012, a pour mission de conduire le pays, en 18 mois, à des élections générales après la rédaction d'une Constitution établissant la nature du régime politique.

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The final moments of Mohammed Morsi's one-year Presidency before he was ousted by his Egyptian military have been dramatically recounted by army, security and Muslim Brotherhood officials

The final moments of Mohammed Morsi's one-year Presidency before he was ousted by his Egyptian military have been dramatically recounted by army, security and Muslim Brotherhood officials

    Sunday, July 07, 2013   No comments

Speaking anonymously to the Associated Press, allies of the President said they had foreseen the end of Morsi's leadership up to a week before the opposition planned its first major protests and painted a bleak picture of the Brotherhoods decline.

In recent months, the former President had reportedly been at loggerheads with a series of the country's most powerful institutions, including religious clerics, the police and intelligence agencies.

The effect was isolating, officials said. According to some, there was such pervasive distrust between the political leadership and the civil service that the latter began withholding information from Morsi.

The police also refused to protect Muslim Brotherhood offices when they came under attack in the latest wave of protests.

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Egyptian Lessons to Assad and His Opponents

Egyptian Lessons to Assad and His Opponents

    Sunday, July 07, 2013   No comments

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s first reaction to the protests that broke out in his country two and

Within a few months, as the opposition became militarized, Damascus could only see a conspiracy in the making, as the descent into violence opened up a big wound across the nation.

The regime’s initial response was either guided by security concerns or took the form of a series of political concessions that had no real impact on people’s lives. As a result, the opposition, which was still not completely in the grip of foreign forces, registered a surge in its popularity.
But rather than using this to its advantage at the negotiating table, the Syrian opposition believed al-Jazeera’s propaganda campaign that the regime’s days were numbered, so they chose to up the ante and escalate their armed insurgency against the regime to finish it off.

Today, Syrians find themselves before an opportunity to reassess their situation and possibly bring the bloody confrontations to a stop. They should use the developments in Egypt to reflect on the course of their actions and where they are taking their country. This would require a series of steps by both sides along the following lines.

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half years ago was to dismiss any relation between them and events in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya.

When is a military coup not a military coup? When it happens in Egypt, apparently

When is a military coup not a military coup? When it happens in Egypt, apparently

    Friday, July 05, 2013   No comments

For the first time in the history of the world, a coup is not a coup. The army take over, depose and imprison the democratically elected president, suspend the constitution, arrest the usual suspects, close down television stations and mass their armour in the streets of the capital. But the word ‘coup’ does not – and cannot – cross the lips of the Blessed Barack Obama. Nor does the hopeless UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon dare to utter such an offensive word. It’s not as if Obama doesn’t know what’s going on. Snipers in Cairo killed 15 Egyptians this week from a rooftop of the very university in which Obama made his ‘reach-out’ speech to the Muslim world in 2009. Is this reticence because millions of Egyptians demanded just such a coup – they didn’t call it that, of course – and thus became the first massed people in the world to demand a coup prior to the actual coup taking place? Is it because Obama fears that to acknowledge it’s a coup would force the US to impose sanctions on the most important Arab nation at peace with Israel? Or because the men who staged the coup might forever lose their 1.5 billion subvention from the US – rather than suffer a mere delay -- if they were told they’d actually carried out a coup.

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Turkey calls for immediate release of Egyptian leaders

Turkey calls for immediate release of Egyptian leaders

    Thursday, July 04, 2013   No comments

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has criticized the military intervention in Egypt, saying Turkey does not accept the removal and detention of elected leaders from power through “illegitimate means,” adding that he hoped the military’s move would not overshadow the original Jan. 25, 2011 revolution.

“Whatever the reason is, it is unacceptable that a democratically elected government was overthrown by illegitimate means, even more, with a military coup. A national consensus politics is possible only with the participation and support of democratic institutions, actors, opposition and civil society,” Davutoğlu told reporters in Istanbul. “Leaders who come to power with open and transparent elections reflecting the will of the people can only be removed by elections, that is, the will of the nation.”

Egypt’s army held the country’s first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi in detention, hours after abruptly forcing him out of office following days of deadly protests against his turbulent rule. Morsi’s defense minister, armed forces chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, announced Morsi’s overthrow on state television on Wednesday. Warrants have been issued for the arrest of a total of 300 Muslim Brotherhood officials.

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Crisis in Egypt: Morsi at Precipice after Disastrous Year

Crisis in Egypt: Morsi at Precipice after Disastrous Year

    Tuesday, July 02, 2013   No comments

On Monday, the Egyptian Army issued President Mohammed Morsi an ultimatum: He has 48 hours to come up with a plan for the country or it will intervene with one of its own. The tens of thousands of anti-Morsi protesters who had been demonstrating since Sunday in Tahrir Square broke out into cheers when the ultimatum was announced.

Yet Morsi has shown no indication that he is prepared to back down. On Tuesday, despite widespread dissatisfaction with his rule and a crumbling cabinet, he released a statement of his own, saying that he will continue on the course he has charted. As if to underline Morsi's increasing isolation, his foreign minister, Mohamed Kamel Amr, threw in the towel on Tuesday morning. He is the sixth member of Morsi's government to quit over the escalating crisis.

Disillusionment with Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt's first democratically elected president, is widespread following the past year of his rule. Results, after all, have been disastrous. Instead of freeing his country from an ongoing political and economic crisis, Morsi has deepened the suffering. Instead of bringing reconciliation to Egypt, he has sown discord. Mass protests have repeatedly shown how polarized the most populous country in the Arab world has become. Indeed, just on Sunday, several people lost their lives in violent anti-Morsi protests in the heart of Cairo.

"My country has never been as divided, frustrated and radicalized as it is today," says German-Egyptian author Hamed Abdel-Samad.

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President Mohamed Morsi rejects Egypt army's ultimatum, as ministers resign

President Mohamed Morsi rejects Egypt army's ultimatum, as ministers resign

    Tuesday, July 02, 2013   No comments

President Mohamed Morsi rejected an army ultimatum to force a resolution to Egypt's political crisis, saying that he would keep to his path even as his foreign minister added to the resignations from his cabinet.
The Islamist leader described as potentially confusing the 48-hour deadline set by the head of the armed forces on Monday for him to agree on a common platform with liberal rivals who have drawn millions into the streets demanding Morsi's resignation.
Members of his Muslim Brotherhood have used the word "coup" to describe the military manoeuvre, which carries the threat of the generals imposing their own road map for the nation.
On Tuesday morning Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr became the latest and most profile member of Mr Morsi's cabinet to desert him over the turmoil. He joined four ministers - of environment, legal affairs, communication and legal affairs, who stepped down on Monday.

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Egypt's Mohamed Morsi remains defiant as fears of civil war grow

Egypt's Mohamed Morsi remains defiant as fears of civil war grow

    Sunday, June 30, 2013   No comments

In exclusive interview with the Guardian, Morsi defiantly rejects call for elections, setting stage for trial of strength on the streets

The Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, has vowed there will be no second revolution in Egypt, as thousands planned to gather outside his presidential palace calling for his removal after a year in power.

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Morsi rejected opposition calls for early presidential elections and said he would not tolerate any deviation from constitutional order. He said his early resignation would undermine the legitimacy of his successors, creating a recipe for unending chaos.

"If we changed someone in office who [was elected] according to constitutional legitimacy – well, there will be people opposing the new president too, and a week or a month later they will ask him to step down," Morsi said.

"There is no room for any talk against this constitutional legitimacy. There can be demonstrations and people expressing their opinions. But what's critical in all this is the adoption and application of the constitution. This is the critical point."

At least seven people have been killed and over 600 injured in clashes between Morsi's Islamist allies and their secular opposition over the past few days.

With tensions set to rise on Sunday, Morsi's defiant stance sets the stage for a trial of strength that will be played out on the streets of Cairo in front of his official residence. Once gathered, the opposition have vowed not to leave it until he resigns.

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Egypt braced for rival mass demonstrations

Egypt braced for rival mass demonstrations

    Friday, June 28, 2013   No comments

President Mohammed Morsi's supporters are to hold "open-ended" rallies - two days ahead of opposition protests calling for the president to resign.

Meanwhile, one person died and a number of others were injured in clashes in northern Egypt late on Thursday.

Mr Morsi said divisions threatened to "paralyse" Egypt, in a speech on Wednesday to mark a year in office.

Troops have been deployed in the capital Cairo and other cities.

Mr Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood, became Egypt's first Islamist president on 30 June 2012, after winning an election considered free and fair.

His first year as president has been marred by constant political unrest and a sinking economy.

The president also used his televised speech late on Wednesday to warn the media not to abuse free speech.

Within hours ripples from the speech could be felt across Egyptian media.

A talk show on the al-Fareen TV channel ended abruptly on Thursday night when the presenter learned he was to be arrested. Host and owner Tawfiq Okasha is accused of spreading false information, and the channel has ceased broadcasting.

Another prominent presenter resigned on air on state-run television in protest at what he called government interference in the editorial content of his programme.

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Morsi: I have made mistakes

Morsi: I have made mistakes

    Thursday, June 27, 2013   No comments

The Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, used a televised address on Wednesday to admit to making mistakes in his first year in office. But the president also widened the divide between his Islamist supporters and Egypt's secular opposition during his speech, blaming unspecified "enemies of Egypt" for sabotaging the democratic system and warning that the polarised state of the country's politics threatened to plunge it into chaos.

Morsi pledged to introduce "radical and quick" reforms in state institutions, admitting some of his goals had not been achieved.

"Today, I present an audit of my first year, with full transparency, along with a roadmap. Some things were achieved and others not," he said. "I have made mistakes on a number of issues."

Yet in a meandering speech that lasted more than two and a half hours, Morsi refused to offer serious concessions to the opposition – and pointedly praised the army, whom many opposition members hope will facilitate a transition of power in the coming weeks.

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Two people were killed and dozens injured in street fighting on Wednesday north of Cairo

Two people were killed and dozens injured in street fighting on Wednesday north of Cairo

    Wednesday, June 26, 2013   No comments

Two people were killed and dozens injured in street fighting on Wednesday north of Cairo between supporters and opponents of Egypt’s Islamist president, hours before Mohamed Mursi was to address the nation.

With Egypt gripped by fears of a showdown between Islamists and their opponents, security sources said 90 people wounded in the city of Mansoura after hundreds of men were involved in rock-throwing street skirmishes. Witnesses heard gunfire and state television showed a man in hospital with birdshot wounds.

Similar outbursts of violence, often prompted by one side or the other staging rallies, have hit towns across the country in recent days. At least two men died last weekend. The opposition plans mass protests this weekend, calling for Mursi to resign.

He shows no sign of doing that and is expected to blame the deadlock that has aggravated an economic crisis on resistance from those loyal to his ousted predecessor Hosni Mubarak.

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Britain’s Supreme Court has lifted sanctions against Iran’s Mellat Bank describing them "irrational" and "disproportionate".

Britain’s Supreme Court has lifted sanctions against Iran’s Mellat Bank describing them "irrational" and "disproportionate".

    Wednesday, June 19, 2013   No comments

The UK's highest court ruled that the government was wrong to have imposed sanctions on an Iranian bank in 2009 over alleged links to Iran's nuclear programme.
The Supreme Court decision on Wednesday mirrored a January ruling by the European Union's General Court, which overturned sanctions imposed in 2010, and could result in the bank suing Britain for damages.
In a majority judgment, Supreme Court Judge Jonathan Sumption said that the British government had been "arbitrary", "irrational" and "disproportionate" to single out Bank Mellat, Iran's largest private bank, for sanctions.
Bank Mellat has long denied allegations against its activities and argued that it had not been consulted before sanctions were imposed.

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