Former IAEA Director Mohamed El Baradei. Photo: wiki commons.

Leading Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei said Tuesday that President Mohamed Morsi threatened to “burn the country” if he became prime minister.

The comments came during an interview with London-based Al-Hayat newspaper. It is unclear when the threat was made, but ElBaradei cited former military leader Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi as the source of his information,

In 2011, Egypt’s then ruling military council was considering naming former International Atomic Energy Agency Chief ElBaradei as Cairo’s new prime minister, but according to ElBaradei the Muslim Brotherhood “vetoed” the possibility.

ElBaradei also accused the Brotherhood of hijacking the revolution but says that they have failed in their quest to lead the country.

“The Brotherhood has failed politically, economically and security-wise,” he told the newspaper, adding that the Islamist group is trying to “change the spirit” of Egypt from one of moderation, tolerance, art and intellectualism.

He said that the youth of the revolution has become jaded because of this result, saying “there is intense anger among young people who sparked the revolution because they feel that the revolution has been stolen away from them, and that their dream was stolen as well, it was a dream of the future,” according to a translation from Al-Arabiya.

“Young people represent 60 percent of the Egyptian society,” he added.