It is not possible to talk about the Egyptian-Saudi relation on the basis that everything was perfect all the time. Since the death of late King Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz, suspicious silence dominated the relations between the two countries. We caught a large number of evidences proving that there are major threats facing the relations between the two main powers. We turned to believe the formal speeches issued by the two countries that the relations are normal, as they met our aspirations and hopes, while we monitored the major differences between the two countries during this period. Dealing with the Muslim Brotherhood was one of the main differences between Egypt and Saudi Arabia since Abdullah's death in January 2015. Cairo gives the priority to the confrontation with the extremist groups, including the terrorist group, while Saudi turns to delay such a confrontation, giving the priority to the Iranian threat especially after the conclusion of the nuclear agreement between the Persian state and the international major powers The Saudi idea stems from its previous experience when it gave the priority to the confrontation with the Islamist groups at the expense of the Iranian threat to pave the way for the Mullahs to dominate Arab states, including Syria, Iraq and Lebanon in addition to the Iranian role in Yemen through the Houthi militias. Saudi strategy is based on rallying the Islamist Sunni movements to confront the Shiite threat coming from Iran, which is expected to adopt a brutal approach after the nuclear agreement accompanied with the release of Iran suspended money and asset in the Western capitals and the lift of international sanctions imposed on Tehran for years. More clearly, Saudi wanted turning the region into two major powers; the first is Sunni led by the kingdom itself and includes the Sunni Islamist movements, while the other is Shiite led by Iran and it armed militias in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. In that moment, Saudi Arabia was close to use the Muslim Brotherhood in its confrontation with Iran retreating from its previous position that reached to its peak when the Saudi government listed the group as a terrorist organization during the era of late King Abdullah. From this point, we can understand the notable improvement in the relation between the kingdom and Hamas. Riyadh opened a line of communication with the Palestinian movement for the first time since over four years. It turned to polarize the movement to gain a point in its confrontation against Tehran that was one day the major financer of the Palestinian movement before their differences over the Syrian conflict. These communications, which started immediately after the ascent of King Salman to the throne, opened the door for Mashaal's visit to the kingdom, according to sources and authors close to the movement. What was Egypt's position from these developments? According to sources close the decision making circle in Cairo, the Egyptian authorities believed that Riyadh was planning for performing more effective role in the Palestinian cause through supporting the Palestinian reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas to pave the way for pushing forward the Israeli Palestinian negotiations. Saudi sponsored before the 2007 agreement of reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, entitled Mecca Agreement to form a national unity government, while Hamas' control over the Gaza Strip undermined the Saudi-sponsored agreement. The Saudi government currently attempts to perform a role in the Palestinian issue to gain a new card that it can use after the conclusion of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the international major powers. Meanwhile, Egypt believes that the Palestinian issue is under the Egyptian influence circle and any agreement will not be passed without the Egyptian approval. It was clear for the Egyptian leadership that there are efforts to achieve rapprochement between Hamas and Saudi especially after the Saudi officials discussed their quest to bridge the gap between Cairo and the Palestinian movement. According to reports, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir proposed, during a meeting with President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, a meeting between Egyptian officials and leaders of the movement in Riyadh, while the Egyptian side refused the idea completely. It is important to discuss Mashaal's visit to Riyadh. It came after series of meetings between Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Nayef and Deputy Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman on one hand with leaders of the Palestinian movement. The main goal of these meetings is to undermine the relations between the movement and Iran. Hamas pledged not to support Tehran, while the Saudi government provided it with $10-million aid in a compensation for the suspended aid coming from Iran. Egypt, on its hand, informed the different parties that it will not involve in any agreement with the Muslim Brotherhood. It completely refused any rapprochement with Hamas. It told the mediators that the discussion of such issue is not accepted. I have to say that the Egyptian government had a clear position, as it put conditions to which Hamas should commit, if they wanted to achieve rapprochement with Egypt. The most important of these conditions is to hand over its elements who involved in the attacks that targeted the Egyptian soldiers in Sinai. The Syrian issue also was one of the major difference between Cairo and Riyadh. When Iraq's Prime Minister Haider Abadi visited Cairo, he stated that both Egypt and Iraq aspire to create a state of coexistence between the Syrian regime and its opposition to pave the way for the current conflict. The statement raised the Saudi concern. The Egyptian vision came on the basis of the need for a political solution aiming to keep the institutions of the Syrian state and its army, while the Saudi government raised the necessity of Assad's removal so it provided training support for the Syrian opposition. The differences between Egypt and the kingdom strongly appeared in Cairo's refusal to allow the Syrian opposition to be represented in the recent Arab Summit against the Saudi desire. The Egyptian position stem from its refusal to allow Muslim Brotherhood take the power, if the Syrian regime was overthrown. In Yemen, Muslim Brotherhood was a major difference between Egypt and Saudi, as the Saudi government contacted with Reform Party loyal to the group to ensure its support during the military operation led by Saudi against the Houth strongholds in Yemen. The Saudi government insisted on the involvement of the Islamist party in any governmental coalition, the matter that was strongly refused by Cairo. The Egyptian government believed that any such step would leave negative repercussions on Egypt's national security. Saudi government expressed its resentment over the moves taken by its Egyptian counterpart to contain the crisis in Yemen. The Egyptian officials met with representatives of the Yemeni different parties, including a number of loyalists to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Egyptian position came in coordination with the Emirati government that adopt the same position pursued by the Egyptian government towards the Muslim Brotherhood. The Emirati government expressed its refusal to allow the Muslim Brotherhood participate in ruling any Arab countries, considering them a major threat to their security. On the other hand, Sources revealed that the Egyptian government expressed its concern over the notable rapprochement witnessed in the relations between Riyadh and Ankara, as the Saudi government turned to form a new coalition with Turkey to confront the Iranian growing emperor. I decided to write the developments witnessed in the relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia in details to understand the different phases that turned them into a complete coalition between the two countries during the recent period since the visit of King Salman to Cairo last month.
