Senior Cleric Calls for Closer Iran-Egypt Relations

Senior Iranian Cleric Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi underlined that the upcoming Cairo Conference will provide a good opportunity for both Tehran and Cairo to further improve their relations.
“A good opportunity for proximity of Iran and Egypt has been created and both sides should use this opportunity to get closer,” Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi said in a meeting with Iran’s Representative to Cairo Conference Ahmad Moballeqi in the Central Iranian city of Qom on Monday.

He pointed to enemies’ plans to sow seeds of discord among Muslims, and said, “We should make use of the capacities of Egypt and other Muslim countries to getting closer despite enemies’ attempts to the opposite.”

Iranian and Egyptian officials have repeatedly voiced their interest in the resumption of the two countries’ diplomatic relations in the last few years.

In June, Iranian and Egyptian officials stressed the need for utilizing each and every capacity and potential to improve their all-out ties.

In a meeting with Head of Egypt’s Interests Section in Iran Khalid al-Saeed Ibrahim Amari, Iranian President’s Chief of Staff Mohammad Nahavandian said the Iranian and Egyptian nations have had historical and cultural ties and enjoy prominent positions in the Muslim world too, and urged relevant officials in both Iran and Egypt to pave the way for promotion of relations.

Amari, for his part, voiced his country’s willingness for consolidating Tehran-Cairo ties.