Egypt's president warned regional adversaries Wednesday that he would not tolerate what he called their tampering his country's security and stability, a reference to Iran and Hizbullah, which it supports.
"The Arab region is passing through a delicate and hard stage ... and facing the threats of known regional powers that embrace terrorism and extremism and clearly brag of animosity to peace," President Hosni Mubarak said.
"After these powers and their hirelings have encroached on Egypt's security and sovereignty, I say clearly that I don't allow this and will not tolerate those who try to tamper with Egypt's security and stability," he said in a speech. He did not mention Iran or Hizbullah by name, but it was clear he was referring to the two.
Mubarak's comments were his strongest words of warning since Egypt accused the powerful Lebanese militant group of plotting attacks in the country, and were also meant to send a strong message to the group's backers in Iran.
Egypt announced earlier this month that it had uncovered a plot by 49 men with links to Hizbullah to destabilize the country by carrying out attacks on Egyptian institutions and Israeli tourists.
Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah has rejected the accusations, while admitting that a Hizbullah member was in Egypt supervising weapons shipments to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.