The Egyptian foreign ministry released a statement on Tuesday in reaction to demonstrations at the US embassy in Cairo protesting an anti-Islam film  reportedly being produced by US-based Coptic-Christian Egyptians.

The ministry stressed the importance of protecting all embassies and diplomatic envoys in Egypt, as well as foreigners working in the country, adding that Egypt expects its envoys to receive similar treatment abroad. The Vienna Convention, which Egypt was one of the first states to sign in 1961, obliges Egypt to protect embassies and provide them with security, the statement added.

The statement also stressed that Egypt has been exerting effort to prove to the world that its transition period is coming to end and that it has once again become a safe country, adding that such incidents negatively affect the image of the country, harming different sectors as well as citizens.

Thousands protested at the US embassy in Cairo on Tuesday over an anti-Islam film, demanding that the US bans its screening. Several protesters climbed the embassy walls and brought down the US flag to voice their opposition.