CAIRO - Four Egyptians and a Syrian man were arrested in Cairo after they waved their shoes in the face of visiting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the state-run newspaper Al Akhbar reported Wednesday.

The incident occurred late on Tuesday as Ahmadinejad left Al Hussain Mosque in Cairo where the five people made the offensive gesture to protest Iran’s support for the Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, added the paper. Video footage released by a Turkish news outlet showed a shoe hitting the Iranian president’s head. Raising a shoe in a person’s face is a serious offence in eastern culture.
The offenders were restrained by security guards and taken to a nearby police station for probes, added the paper. They chanted slogans against the Iranian leader, said other local media.
Ahmadinejad is making the first visit by an Iranian head of state to Egypt in more than 30 years.
Ties between the two regional heavyweights have improved since a popular revolt toppled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak almost two years ago. Tehran severed diplomatic ties with Cairo in 1980 to protest Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel.