Despite the popular uprising in Egypt, which resulted in the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, unfortunately, there is still no clear roadmap for the reestablishment of Tehran-Cairo relations, and Egypt’s interim government has done almost nothing to restore diplomatic ties.

But Nabil el Arabi, the current Egyptian foreign minister and the new Arab League secretary general, has expressed some positive remarks in this regard. Of course, Egypt is going to distance itself from the United States and its previous policies in the Middle East, but despite all this, there is no clear determination in Cairo to start the process.
This could be due to the fact that Egypt does not have a stabilized governing system. The country has yet to elect a new president or members of other policymaking institutions. In addition, remnants of the previous despotic regime remain in power in the form of the military council that is running the government and other centers of power without direct and close consultation with the people and political parties. Thus, the resumption of diplomatic relations between Iran and Egypt is a demand of the Egyptian people that cannot be correctly understood in the current system.
The prospect of reestablishing Iran-Egypt relations is very promising, and this has been recognized by various segments of Egyptian society. Iran enjoys a great deal of spiritual influence in the region, and the people of Egypt want to interact more with Iran in the political and cultural spheres. But the U.S. and Israel are terrified about this bright future and thus are trying to hinder the process.
However, foreign policy is currently not the main priority in Egypt. The country’s officials and citizens are busy with domestic issues, such as security and economic problems. They need billions of dollars to meet their economic needs and to revive the seriously damaged tourism industry. Egyptian officials need at least $12 billion for the economic reconstruction of the country. These are the main obstacles in the way of efforts to resume ties with countries like Iran.
Other governments in the region also have some views about the proposal to resume relations between the two countries. For example, Turkey, as a regional power, welcomes the idea and does not appear to be competing with Iran in terms of rapprochement with Egypt. But Saudi Arabia feels its interests are threatened and will make every effort to nip this new trend in the bud. Clearly, if the governments of Iran and Egypt strengthen their cooperation, Saudi Arabia’s regional role will be completely undermined.
The smaller Arab countries of the Persian Gulf are also worried about this new initiative because they fear the increasing influence of Iran as a regional power on their doorstep. During Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf’s last trip to some of these tiny states, they informed him that certain conditions had to be met before they would invest in the country.
These problems add to the complexity of the Iran-Egypt relationship. But once the people and government of Egypt establish the necessary mechanisms to administer the country through an elected president and parliament, the two countries will naturally restore their diplomatic relations, which is expected to benefit both Egypt and Iran.
Mohammad Ali Mohtadi is a journalist and Middle East expert based in Tehran.