US, Israel, S. Arabia, Qatar Pressuring Mursi Not to Resume Ties with Iran

Western diplomats disclosed that the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have increased pressures on Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi to make him avoid resumption of diplomatic ties with Iran.

Washington has urged a team of President Mursi’s aides to delay the resumption of ties between Tehran and Cairo, the Norwegian radio Austin quoted Western diplomatic sources as saying on Tuesday, adding that Mursi’s deputies and aides have assured the US that they would put off resumption of ties with Tehran.

The US, Israel, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are concerned about the efforts aimed at normalization of diplomatic ties between Iran and Egypt, the diplomats said.

The sources said the US and Israel have recently embarked on using their Arab allies to augment their efforts in this regard, adding that Israel and the US are propagating Iranophobia and Shiiteophobia among Egyptians to stir sentiments against Shiism in the Sunni-majority Arab state.

According to the report, Egypt’s security forces have become more sensitive to Arab Shiite tourists travelling to Egypt. The new instructions given to the employees of the International Cairo Airport show that they have been ordered not to allow Iraqi Shiite tourists into Egypt.

Earlier this month, Secretary General of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought Ayatollah Mohsen Araki, in a meeting with Egypt’s Al-Azhar Community Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb cautioned that enemy efforts to sow discord among Muslims is the biggest challenge threatening the world of Islam today.

After the collapse of Hosni Mubarak’s regime, the Iranian and Egyptian officials voiced their interest in the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries and Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi officially invited the then Egyptian counterpart Nabil Al-Arabi to pay a visit to Tehran.

Later, the Iranian foreign minister and his former Egyptian counterpart also held a meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

Also, during the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran late August, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Egyptian counterpart conferred on ways to promote the bilateral relations between Tehran and Cairo, and stressed the need for continued consultations in this regard.

In a latest development, President Mursi in a meeting with Salehi in Cairo in September said that Iran plays an important role in resolving the regional crises, and underlined that Tehran and Cairo should be united in dealing with global challenges.

“When the followers of unrighteousness are united in their unrighteous path, why should not we go united in our right position when dealing with global challenges,” Mursi said.

Stressing that Egypt assumes Iran’s stability as its own stability, he said, “There is no problem between Iran and Egypt.”