Tehran reaches out to Egypt’s Morsi

Far from shying away in the face of the rise to power of the Muslim Brotherhood in North Africa, Iran has continued to reach out, in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, in the name of Islam. Knowing that relations between the Brothers and Saudi Arabia have not always been on an even keel, Tehran has multiplied its initiatives to prevent the new governments of North Africa from joining Saudi Arabia’s Fitna game of fueling conflict between Sunnis and Shiites. Egypt is the centerpiece of this diplomacy. Ambassador Bhadrakumar analyzes the momentous repercussions of the current fence-mending efforts between Egypt and Iran.

Tehran reaches out to Egypt’s Morsi
by Melkulangara K. Bhadrakumar – Voltaire Network – 6 August, 2012

The strategic navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran passing through the Suez Canal for the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, 19 February 2012.

This is a development that holds the potential to shake up Middle Eastern politics — Iranian vice-president visiting Cairo. The two countries pulled down the shutters following the Iranian revolution in 1979 and a dark period continued right till the end of the Hosni Mubarak era. The revolution on Tahrir Square one year ago heralded a thaw, the first sign of which was the permission granted to an Iranian warship to cross the Suez Canal to visit Syria.

Low-key contacts followed, including a meeting between the two foreign ministers on the sidelines of the NAM meeting in Bali, Indonesia in May last year. Iran pressed hard for the resumption of diplomatic ties. Egypt sought more time. Tehran didn’t press, either, comprehending the complexities of the Egyptian situation.

Meanwhile, the military junta permitted a second Iranian warship to cross the Suez Canal, disregarding the stern rebuke by the United States and Israel (and the annoyance of Saudi Arabia). On its part, evidently with the acquiescence of Cairo, Tehran began inviting a series of Egyptian goodwill delegations from the civil society in a sustained effort to reach out to the various sections — especially the Islamist forces — of Egyptian society. …source