Pat Dollard | Young Americans

OK, so da Munchkin King calls up the Egyptian Grand Poobah and they haven’t spoken for years because Munchkinland refuses to take down a large mural of one of Egypt’s past Grand Poobah’s Assassin, and da Munchkins won’t change the name of one of the side streets in Munchkinland named after said assassin.

But because the flying monkeys are having a hard time on Gaza mountain, well, relations may have to overlook the past because the flying monkeys are the Grand Experiment of Oz, and if we can’t secure a place for the flying monkeys to trash on a permanent basis, then all hope of turning Oz into Hell goes kaput.

Here’s how the Jerusalem Post covered the story, and then below that is how the Iranian State News Agency covered it.

Jerusalem Post:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad telephoned his Egyptian counterpart for the first time and discussed the situation in the Gaza strip in the latest sign of warming ties between the two long time Middle East rivals, the official Iranian News Agency reported Tuesday.

Ahmadinejad and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak discussed the crisis in Gaza and called for the lifting of the siege on Gaza and the dispatch of fuel and medicine to the Palestinians, the Egyptian state news agency confirmed.

This was the first time Iranian president had ever spoken by phone to his Egyptian counterpart and the call comes as Iran has been pushing for improving ties between the two countries which were severed in 1979.

Teheran cut diplomatic ties after Cairo signed a peace agreement with Israel and provided asylum for the deposed Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Iran’s support for Iraqi Shi’ites, Lebanon’s Hizbullah and Palestinians’ Hamas has further deteriorated relations, resulting in very limited diplomatic contacts between the two countries.

Early this month, however, top level Iranian envoy Ali Larijani came to Cairo and met with Egyptian officials. His trip followed an exchange of visits by the countries’ deputy foreign ministers in September and October.

Ahmadinejad has repeatedly offered to restore ties, something Egypt says it is considering, while noting that full diplomatic relations could only be restored if Iran takes down a large mural of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s assassin, Khaled el-Islambouli, and change the name of a street honoring him.

And here’s how the Iranian Mouthpiece covered it:

TEHRAN- Iranian and Egyptian presidents in a phone conversation Tuesday condemned recent crimes by the Zionist regime in Gaza Strip, and reiterated the necessity for the removal of the current siege and dispatch of aids to the oppressed Palestinian people.

During the phone talk, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reminded that martyrdom of every Palestinian makes responsibility of Muslim states still heavier, and added, “It is now the time we assisted the Palestinian people in getting rid of this intolerable condition.”

He further stressed the need for all Muslim countries to cooperate with each other in resolving the Palestinian issue, saying that Muslim states should strive to remove the ongoing siege on Palestinians in a bid to help Palestinian people obtain their basic living needs and put an end to the catastrophic conditions prevailing in Palestinian areas.

For his part, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak briefed his Iranian counterpart on the latest conditions in Gaza, and reiterated the need for the dispatch of aid cargoes, including food, drugs and fuel, to those under siege in Gaza.