Cairo and Tehran have lately agreed on “the importance of continuing to develop bilateral relations and addressing outstanding issues.”
During a phone call with Iran’s acting Foreign Minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, on Wednesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry emphasized the need to “work to achieve the interests of the two peoples and support the stability of the region.”
Iran and Egypt severed diplomatic ties in 1979, before relations resumed again 11 years later, but at the level of chargé d'affaires and interest offices. The past months have witnessed meetings between Egyptian and Iranian ministers on several occasions, to discuss the possibility of promoting ties.
In May 2023, the late Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take the necessary measures to “strengthen relations with Egypt.”
According to a statement by spokesman of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs , Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the two ministers agreed on “the importance of developing bilateral ties in a way that ensures that all outstanding issues are addressed, in preparation for restoring normal relations, based on the principles of mutual respect and good neighborliness, with the aim to achieve the interests of the Egyptian and Iranian peoples and support the stability of the region.”
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, former Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister for African Affairs, Ambassador Ali Al-Hafni said that both countries have expressed desire to restore normal relations.
“This is something that falls within the interest of Cairo and Tehran and the national security of the two countries,” he noted.
For his part, Egyptian researcher at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Karam Saeed, said that Egypt was open to all countries of the region in a way that serves its interests and regional stability.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s statement, on Wednesday evening, indicated that Shoukry and Bagheri-Kani agreed, during the phone call, to “maintain the pace of consultation on the course of bilateral relations,” in addition to finding ways to resolve the current crisis in the Gaza Strip and confront the related challenges at the regional and international levels.
According to Saeed, the Egyptian-Iranian rapprochement is linked to recent developments, including the repercussions of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, the economic conditions and their impact on the countries of the region.
