THE AUSTRALIAN: BENJAMIN Netanyahu has warned of the dangers of an Iranian-style regime led by Islamic extremists arising out of the political chaos sweeping through Egypt.
"In a time of chaos, an organised Islamic group can take over the state. It happened in Iran and it also happened in other places," the Israeli leader said at a press conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
His remarks were made as the Egyptian regime wrestles with a wave of unprecedented anti-government protests, which have pitted hundreds of thousands of demonstrators against the regime of embattled President Hosni Mubarak.
Although it was not extremist elements that provoked the instability in Tunisia or Egypt, the fear was that they could exploit the political vacuum left by the collapse of the ruling power, Netanyahu added, saying he was being updated about developments "every half hour."
"Every one hopes that this will be resolved peacefully, that stability will return and peace will be maintained," he added.
In Iran, mass protests against the Western-backed shah erupted in January 1978 and he was forced out a year later, leaving a power vacuum that was grasped by the exiled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who returned to set up the Islamic Republic. >>> AFP | Tuesday, February 01, 2011
NZZ ONLINE: «Ägypten könnte ein Erdbeben auslösen» : Harvard-Professor Niall Ferguson im Interview >>> Interview: Marco Metzler | Dienstag, 01. Februar 2011
