Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's investment authority GAFI hosts forum with China to link business, innovation leaders    CBE governor meets Beijing delegation to discuss economic, financial cooperation    Egypt's Gypto Pharma, US Dawa Pharmaceuticals sign strategic alliance    Egypt to unveil 'national economic development narrative' in June, focused on key economic targets    Egypt's Foreign Minister calls new Somali counterpart, reaffirms support    Italy's consumer, business confidence decline in April '25    "5,000 Years of Civilizational Dialogue" theme for Korea-Egypt 30th anniversary event    Egypt's Al-Sisi, Angola's Lourenço discuss ties, African security in Cairo talks    Two new recycling projects launched in Egypt with EGP 1.7bn investment    Egypt's ambassador to Palestine congratulates Al-Sheikh on new senior state role    Egypt's TMG eyes $17bn sales from potential major Iraq project    Egypt's Health Min. discusses childhood cancer initiative with WHO    Egypt pleads before ICJ over Israel's obligations in occupied Palestine    Asia-Pacific stocks rise on Wall Street cues    Egypt's EDA discusses local pharmaceutical manufacturing with Bayer    Sudan conflict, bilateral ties dominate talks between Al-Sisi, Al-Burhan in Cairo    Egypt expresses condolences to Canada over Vancouver incident    Cairo's Madinaty and Katameya Dunes Golf Courses set to host 2025 Pan Arab Golf Championship from May 7-10    Egypt's Health Min. strengthens healthcare ties with Bayer    Egypt's Ministry of Health launches trachoma elimination campaign in 7 governorates    EHA explores strategic partnership with Türkiye's Modest Group    Between Women Filmmakers' Caravan opens 5th round of Film Consultancy Programme for Arab filmmakers    Fourth Cairo Photo Week set for May, expanding across 14 Downtown locations    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Ancient military commander's tomb unearthed in Ismailia    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM praises ties with Tanzania    Egypt to host global celebration for Grand Egyptian Museum opening on July 3    Ancient Egyptian royal tomb unearthed in Sohag    Egypt hosts World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup in Somabay for 3rd consecutive year    Egyptian Minister praises Nile Basin consultations, voices GERD concerns    49th Hassan II Trophy and 28th Lalla Meryem Cup Officially Launched in Morocco    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Paris Olympics opening draws record viewers    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



So close, yet so far
Published in Al-Ahram Weekly on 01 - 12 - 2005

Despite the high-profile meetings and increasingly shared interests, Egypt and Iran are a long way from restoring full diplomatic ties
When President Hosni Mubarak met Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on the fringes of last month's Arab League-sponsored Iraqi national reconciliation conference in Cairo, both officials emphasised their countries' interest in developing stronger bilateral ties, reports Magda El-Ghitany. After the meeting, Mottaki acknowledged Egypt's "support" for Iran's right to a peaceful nuclear programme; Mubarak called current bilateral relations between the two countries "positive and appropriate".
For many observers, the warmth of the meeting actually belied the factors preventing the two nations from resuming full diplomatic ties. Egyptian-Iranian ties were broken following the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, when Egypt offered asylum to the deposed Pahlavi Mohammed Reza Shah, signed the US brokered Camp David peace accords, and supported Iraq in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. By the 1990s, economic relations had resumed. The first presidential encounter between the two states since 1979 took place in 2003, when Mubarak met Mohamed Khatami -- the Iranian president at the time -- on the fringes of a UN technology summit in Geneva.
After the meeting, Iran's vice president at the time, Mohammed Ali Abtahai, said that both countries had decided to fully normalise their bilateral ties, a statement that was downplayed by former Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, who merely described Egyptian-Iranian relations as being on the "right track". A couple of years later, in March 2005, a Cairo-based espionage trial involving an Egyptian and an Iranian accused of spying for Iran then threatened to send those relations off the track altogether.
The recent Mubarak-Mottaki meeting, diplomatic sources told Al-Ahram Weekly, marks yet another rapprochement. One high-ranking diplomat said that although Egypt and Iran do not have full "official" ties, relations between the countries "are strong in their core and essence". Cairo and Tehran are both member states in several international organisations and movements such as the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), the D8, and the non-aligned movement; they also see eye to eye on international issues, such as their coordinated 2001 stance on combating terrorism.
The barriers preventing Egyptian-Iranian relations from moving into the fast lane are still there, however. One is the Tehran street named after Khaled El-Islamboli, the assassin of late president Anwar El-Sadat. Although Tehran's city council has decided to change the street's name to "Intifada" a large mural of El-Islamboli still adorns it. Cairo sees this as a symbolic example of Iran honouring the "assassin of Egypt's former president," the diplomat said. "That is unacceptable. Before starting a new page in Egyptian-Iranian relations, Iran must close the old page first."
The matter is also much more complex, of course. Iran expert Mustafa El-Labbad said that each country has "sets of demands that the other is expected to meet". Egypt, for instance, wants to know the "precise role" Iran plays in Iraq, and both nations need to agree on the regional role each plays in the Persian Gulf.
According to Ain Shams University Iranian studies professor Mohamed El-Said Abdel-Mo'men, before fully resuming diplomatic ties, Cairo is also awaiting a "guarantee" that "Tehran will not be a sanctuary for extremist Islamist militants."
Mahmoud Farag, former chief of Egypt's interest section in Iran, said there were other concerns as well; for one thing, full diplomatic Egyptian- Iranian ties might negatively affect Egypt's relations with the US.
At the same time, closer relations carry with them the potential for increased coordination in the interest of regional stability. El-Labbad said that Iran's international credibility would also get a boost from Egypt's strong international ties.
Diplomats and observers are not quite predicting a meeting between Mubarak and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad just yet. Full diplomatic relations may very well be resumed, but not in the near future. Having shared interests is just part of the story, after all. "Twenty-five years of broken diplomatic ties," said one diplomat, "have also increased differences that still need time to be resolved."


Clic here to read the story from its source.