On Friday, March 10, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic relations Through Chinese sponsorship, about seven years after severing them, as a result of the attack on the Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran when Saudi Arabia had executed the Shiaa cleric Nimr al-Nimr. The two sides said they would reopen embassies within two months, and reactivate agreements in trade and security relations, which uphold sovereign equality, adopting the Security agreement signed in 2001.

“Egypt is following with interest the recent agreement to resume diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran”, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, and add “Hoping it will ease tensions and achieve the aspirations of the peoples in the region”, -the same what america said-, but Egyptian Presidential Spokesman showed appreciation more.

What about Egypt?

Newspapers in Israel asked: Can Iran and Saudi Arabia’s agreement open the door to the Egyptian regime doing the same? Israeli journalist Zvi Bar’el, in his Case analysis, wrote the Iran-Saudi Arabia agreement threatens the Arab-Israeli alliance against Iran, ending the crisis of legitimacy for Iran in the Middle East, which means the ability to have more of the same agreements with the Arab World Including Egypt.

This month, negotiations at the consular level between Egypt and Iran agreed that internal communication is important to resolve outstanding issues. Later, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Nasser Kanaani, referred to the Egyptian-Iranian future of relations, pointing to the foreign minister of Iran and the president of Egypt has held positive talks on the side of a regional summit in Oman, December 2022. Increases the chances of improving relations between Iran and Egypt. The existence of relations between the UAE government, the strategic partner of Egypt and one of the Gulf countries that supported President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Iran. “Iran is ready to improve relations between the two countries, but Egypt should do things”, Kanaani said.

Egypt and its Neighbors

Although Egypt has pulled out to forge an “Arab Nato”, but also strongly condemned the Iranian military interventions in the Arab world, “the Arabian Gulf’s security is integral to preserving Egyptian national security”. That was before the current conflicting interests between Saudi Arabia and Egypt on stopping Saudi Arabia’s commitment to helping Sisi overcome Egypt’s crisis by maintaining financial aid to help him shore up an economy.

Since 1979 when Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel and received the shah, the diplomatic relation with Iran had been broken, that was the only reason, so talking about improving the links should be based on Egypt’s far away from Israel’s effect.

Chinese effect

China is a significant economic partner to the Gulf and later has been a political ally depending on Differences between MBS and the Biden administration, deepening its ties with the Middle East and changing it. Under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt has become, its economy ever more reliant upon gulf support and loans. What led it to be a country without foreign exchange to assume international and national obligations?

Last January, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi landed in Cairo for a third visit in four years, which included talks with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, which was very important for Sisi’s regime with Egypt’s current economic problems, so Egypt’s economic partnership with China would allow the latter to increase its influence in Cairo. With Egypt’s indifference about relations with Iran, What will determine Cairo’s foreign policy is its economic benefit and whether Tel Aviv and Washington can pay what the Gulf refused to pay and china can do.