Common interests must be pin-pointed before any significant thaw in Egyptian-Iranian relations, writes Doaa El-Bey Participants in a workshop on EgyptianIranian relations -- organised last week by the International Centre for Future and Strategic Studies (ICFS) and the Youth Studies Unit affiliated to Cairo University's Faculty of Economics and Political Science -- agreed that improved relations with Iran must be refaced by a clear definition of both Egypt and Iran's interests on the national and regional level. Mustafa El-Naggar, one of the founders of the newly established Al-Adl (Justice) Party, said that there are many reasons for détente, not least the fact that the two countries share the same religion and face the same enemy. He warned against listening to arguments that Tehran is trying to spread the Shia doctrine and export its Islamic revolution to Arab states. Popular diplomacy should be the first step, said El-Naggar. It should be followed by cautious moves towards improving relations, and accompanied by a discussion of any outstanding differences. He was optimistic that improved relations would be of benefit not only to Arab states but the region. El-Naggar was part of a 40-member delegation that visited Iran in June. The delegation, an exercise in popular diplomacy that aimed to improve relations between the two states, met senior officials, including the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It included Al-Azhar professors, the former president of the Alexandrian Judges' Club Mahmoud El-Khodeiri, media figure Wael El-Ibrashi, and representatives of the Coptic community. Mogtaby Amany, charge d'affaires at the Iranian embassy in Cairo, said that it was nonsense to think that Tehran had ambitions to promote Shia thinking in Egypt. He wondered how anybody could accuse Iranian tourists of proselytising when they could not speak Arabic. ICFS executive manager Adel Suleiman warned against the current focus on domestic issues, tempting though it is, at the expense of wider national security, which must include relations with Iran. He called for relations with Iran to be normalised with a view to promoting regional security and stability. He did, however, question the contradictory messages emerging from Tehran when it comes to the Arab Spring. Why, he asked, was it so in favour of uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, yet offers uncritical support to the Syrian regime which is violently quelling protests? Amany failed to answer the question. It was left to Mohamed Abbas Nagui from Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, to point out that Iran was seeking to bolster the regime in Syria because it was its main regional ally. Nagui told participants in the workshop that any decision to improve ties between Cairo and Tehran must also take account of the position of other regional powers. Rapprochement with Tehran could not come at the expense of the security of the Gulf states, nor should it progress on the misplaced assumption that any differences between Egypt and Iran are marginal. Journalist Yehia Ghanem, who moderated the workshop, argued that closer ties remained a strategic goal that could be pursued only after a clear assessment of the mutual understanding between the two states. Egypt-Iranian relations were severed in the wake of the Iranian revolution and after Egypt signed the Camp David Accord with Israel. Several attempts since to improve relations failed. The question of Egypt's relations with Iran resurfaced in March when then foreign minister Nabil El-Arabi argued that Cairo should turn over a new page in its dealing with Tehran. Some positive steps have been taken. Last month three delegations visited Iran. The first included businessmen seeking to promote tourism. They believe up to three million Iranian tourists a year could visit Egypt. The second delegation comprised religious figures, the third people working in the cinema industry.
