Al-Ahram Weekly 17-23 Dec'09: ["Little chance of Egyptian] Rapprochement with Iran" excerpts
Egypt and Iran have not been able to normalise relations, and Iranian regional ambitions may mean that they will not be able to do so, writes Salah Hemeid
During a tour of the Arab Gulf last week, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit renewed his country's concern over Iran's mounting influence in the region and reiterated that Egypt will stand by its brethren in the Gulf against any threats to their security.
... [I]n recent months Egypt has repeatedly accused Iran of attempts to expand in areas such as the Gulf, Iraq, Yemen and the Horn of Africa, all considered by Egypt as vital to its national security.
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Mustafa El-Feki, head of the Egyptian parliament's Foreign Relations Committee, described Iranian-Arab relations in general as "unsound", attributing this to an Iranian "tendency for hegemony" and "Persian national aspirations".
Yet El-Feki rejected an Arab school of thought that equates what it calls the "Iranian threat" to that posed by Israel. "It is true that Iran poses a danger, but this cannot be compared to the danger implanted in the heart of the Arab world," he said, referring to Israel.
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Many participants [in the conference] warned that Iran was increasingly interfering in Arab affairs, and that the Arabs should not restore full ties before Iran dropped its current policy of regional expansion and interference in Arab affairs.
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To Iran, Egypt's efforts to bring about peace in the region, and its encouragement of the Palestinians and other Arab countries to follow its path with Israel, threaten to deprive Tehran of the single most potent regional issue that it can exploit to further its radical agenda.
Therefore, Iran seeks to undermine prospects for peace, and, along with its clients such as Hamas and Hizbullah, it believes the way to do this is by undermining Egypt.
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The battle for competing regional influence also extends to Iraq and Lebanon, where Iran has been building a power base among the Shias in these two Arab countries.
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Like many other Arab countries, Egypt is worried about Iran's interference in Lebanon, which Tehran is using to bolster its regional influence. Similarly, Egypt's security interests in the Gulf, and its traditional role as a force for regional stability, present a clear obstacle to Iran's wider regional ambitions.
Also like other Arab countries, Egypt is concerned that any US rapprochement with Iran could ultimately lead to a nuclear-armed, non- Arab, and Shia superpower expanding its influence further in the region.
Egypt fears that the offer of an improvement in US-Iran ties held out by US President Barack Obama could go too far, offering concessions to a powerful regional player long regarded with suspicion.
