Rouhani urges Egyptian army not to 'suppress' people

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani urged Egypt's army on Thursday not to "suppress" the Egyptian people. "I express my condolence to the great Egyptian nation ... and ask Egypt's army not to crack down on great Egyptian nation who is a freedom seeker," Rouhani said, in reference to Wednesday's bloody confrontation between the Egyptian army and the sit-ins supporting ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. "All the world should respect the Egyptians" and their demands, he said when addressing the parliament (Majlis). Hundreds of people were killed and thousands of others injured in confrontations between pro-Morsi protesters and security forces during the dispersing operation that started early Wednesday at two major squares in Egypt.