Iran-Egypt Dilemma: Beyond Bilateral Ties

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Ali Aboul Gheit last week instructed Hussein Haridi, director in charge of Asian affairs at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry to initiate talks with Iran’s interest section in Cairo and prepare the ground for settlement of tensions in Tehran-Cairo ties.

Hamid Reza Dehghanipour, an expert in Middle East affairs has written the following note for Iranian Diplomacy.

 

Relations between Iran and Egypt are very beneficial for the peoples of the two countries, the Muslim world and the regional countries. But each of the two sides has some conditions for normalization of ties. There are two outlooks inside Iran concerning resumption of diplomatic relations with Egypt.

The first group believes that today’s world conditions are different from the time (three decades ago) when Imam Khomeini, the late leader of the Islamic Revolution decided to cut off relations with Egypt. They say a similar situation applied to Saudi Arabia (over the latter’s massacre of Iranian pilgrims in Mecca) which was resolved and that the same can be valid about Egypt. With regard to the changing conditions and stressing that what Imam Khomeini had in mind was not rupture of relations with Cairo for goods, this group insists that the time is now ripe for the two Muslim states to reestablish diplomatic ties.

The second group believes that the world conditions have not changed and that after Imam Khomeini cut off relations with Egypt over the Camp David Accord, Cairo not only made peace with Israel but normalized its relations with the Zionist state no matter that these relations are not supported by the Egyptian people.

Again, the first group argues that when Imam Khomeini ordered rupture of relations with Egypt, he was of the conviction that a collective action in coordination with the Arab states against Egypt could punish Cairo and force it to change its policy. However, when all the Arab states normalized their relations with Egypt, Tehran’s decision to discontinue ties with Cairo would not be very effective. Furthermore, they say, the outlooks of IRI and Egypt at international level are very close particularly concerning a Middle East free from nuclear weapons which was proposed by Iran in 1974 and welcomed by Egypt. More importantly, the Egyptians maintain a positive view on Iran’s peaceful nuclear program and the two sides have forged some coordination at international organizations despite lack of diplomatic ties. These elements, the first group underlines, all call for resumption of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Meanwhile, inside Egypt too, there are different perspectives about relations with Iran. One group says Cairo should reestablish diplomatic relations with Tehran and benefit from its advantages and potentials. They argue that Egypt has been lagging behind in the Middle East and has failed to maintain its past glory and influence due to lack of relations with Iran in recent decades. They believe that Iran has special credit and status in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine but Egypt feels to have lost the rules of the game even in Palestine and Gaza Strip which are so close to the Egyptian border. For the same reason, this group recommends resumption of ties and interactions between Iran and Egypt.

The opposite view in Egypt maintains that relations with Iran could be reestablished after Tehran’s ties with the West, particularly the United States, are improved. They say if Cairo resumes ties with Tehran the former might be deprived of the Western support, including direct financial support and indirect tourism and economic assistance. Therefore, if and only if Iran’s relations with the West are improved the second group would join the first group in calling for resumption of relations with IRI. In other words, the fluctuations seen in the remarks of Egyptian officials and elites concerning relations with Iran originate from developments in Iran’s relations with the West.

Those in Cairo who are opposed to resumption of relations with Tehran see the problem in security issues and for the same reason, whenever there is a chance for Iran-Egypt rapprochement they raise security concerns. Since security in Egypt has the final say this obstacle practically prevents resumption of ties in the last minute. Even when the Iranian side took the initiative to remove the tensions such as the Tehran street named after the assassin of Anwar Sadar (Khalid Islambouli) or the airing of an anti-Egypt movie on Iranian TV, security issues block the way to these efforts.

Interestingly, Iran-Egypt relations have been cut off twice over the question of Palestine. The first time the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat cut off ties with Tehran under the ex-shah for the latter’s friendly relations with Israel. The second time, after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini severed ties with Cairo over the Cap David peace accord with Israel.   

In fact, there is less difference between Iran and Egypt over bilateral relations than issues related to Palestine, Israel, relations with the West or occasional advantages some Egyptian officials take of Iran’s relations with the Arab world. In other words, opponents of reestablishment of relations with Iran believe that they could benefit from influence in the southern coasts of the Persian Gulf only when Tehran’s relations with Arabs are not good. Therefore, we see that the dispute between Iran and Egypt is not over bilateral issues but over Palestine, the situation in the region and Iran’s relations with the Arab states. All in all, big efforts have been made in recent years, particularly in the past eight years, to restart Tehran-Cairo relations and it seems that Iran has been more eager than Egypt in this effort. Obviously, Iran’s desire to recommence ties with Egypt is aimed at improving its relations with the Arab states and utilizing the existing opportunities and potentials in the region for the cause of Palestine, in particular.

It seems that the Egyptians would not take a long stride towards improvement of relations with Iran as long as Tehran does not improve its ties with the West. They would do so when they realize Tehran’s relations with the West are improving or are expected to get better.

The addressee of the positive remarks made by the Egyptian side on reestablishment of relations with Tehran is the United States. In reality, Cairo expects the West not to pressure Egypt over human rights and democracy and wants the US not to halt its financial support for Egypt and not harm Cairo’s status in the region. Otherwise, it cannot be said that the Egyptians are fully ready to restart relations with Tehran yet!