Following are excerpts from an interview with Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani, which aired on Al-Alam TV on February 13, 2001. The translation is based on the Arabic voiceover.

Ali Larijani: Egypt is an important country in the region. When it confronted Israel, Egypt was a great country, and the Egyptian army was a great army, which participated in the war with Israel. Egypt was a prosperous country in terms of its economy as well.

In the past three decades, however, the situation deteriorated. Egypt changed from being a most beloved country, and reached a most degrading situation, in which the Egyptians are no longer capable of defending themselves – especially following the Camp David agreement, and the Egyptian regime's alignment with the Israeli entity.

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The Americans may be thinking that can accomplish [their goals] through a military coup. In my view, this is one of the mistakes of the Americans. It seems as if the Americans have not developed mentally since the Islamic revolution in Iran. They have not come up with effective solutions for the Middle East. They are repeating the same mistakes they committed in the case of Iran.

The Egyptian people do not want power to be transferred to the military. They feel that these generals did not have an important record in the past. This was the case with regard to Iran as well.

In addition, the Americans are seeking alternative leaders, among people whose past record is not known. The Americans want to impose these people on the scene, but from the positions of the Egyptians youth, I gather that they have realized what the Americans are trying to do.

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