(CNN) -- While some governments are trying to walk a fine line between supporting Egypt's president and supporting protesters in that tumultuous nation, Iranian officials are taking the side of the protesters.
But an Iranian opposition leader is making a competing claim of solidarity with the demonstrators, pointing out that when Iran's leaders faced a similar movement in their own backyard two years ago, they crushed it.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Sunday praised Egypt's protests, according to Iran's semi-official Fars news agency, as did the speaker of Iran's parliament, who said the parliament and the nation support uprisings against dictatorial regimes.
"The time has [been] reached to overcome puppet autocratic regimes by relying on the Islamic teachings," said speaker Ali Larijani, according to the news agency.
And Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a top cleric in Tehran, was quoted last week by Fars as saying, "An Islamic Middle East is being created based on Islam, religion, and democracy with prevailing religious principals". CNN
