Division in Egypt over Iran's Saturday night retaliation on Israel

Egyptian social media users have been divided over Iran's offensive against Israel, launched late on Saturday, 13 April, in retaliation for the Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria's capital, Damascus, earlier this month, which left 13 people dead, including several powerful Iranian generals and six Syrians.

While many Egyptian pro-regime social media users mocked the Iranian attacks on Israel and compared them to "useless fireworks," pro-Palestine activists hailed the Islamic Republic's move amid the Israeli ongoing genocidal war on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The hashtags "the Third World War" and "Iran" have been trending on Egyptian social media in support of the Iranian offensive. At the same time, several were critical of the magnitude of the attack, using the hashtag "The mayor's wedding." The "mayor's wedding" is a sarcastic expression in Egypt that refers to an unnecessary hustle or a loud celebration.

In a post on X, Mamoun Fandy, Director of the London Global Strategy Institute, detailed several contradictory theories expected to prevail in the days following the Iranian step.

خد شوية كلام فارغ :
١- ايران قدمت خدمه لإسرائيل بهذا الهجوم غير الفعال —- وكأن الاسرائيلين لم يدخلوا تحت الارض خوفا
٢- صورة إسرائيل في الحضيض وايران اعادة تأهيلها في الرأي العام العالمي —- وكأن الاخلاق عند ملايين من تظاهروا ضد الابادة في غزة هي امر تافه إلى هذا الحد
٣- الموضوع…

— Mamoun Fandy, Ph.D (@mamoun1234) April 14, 2024

Other social media users shared videos showing Iranian missiles as they flew over Egyptian airspace on their way to Israel.

مصريون يوثقون الصواريخ الإيرانية المتجهة إلى #إسرائيل والتي تبدو واضحة بالعين المجردة .. فيما أعلنت الدفاعات الجوية المصرية أنها في حالة تأهب قصوى #إيران #مصر
pic.twitter.com/Vq1nEfUJIH

— Dr.Sam Youssef Ph.D.,M.Sc.,DPT. (@drhossamsamy65) April 14, 2024

The New Arab could not independently verify the authenticity of the clips.  

Meanwhile, Egypt's government has so far maintained a neutral stance. Shortly after the Iranian attack, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry voiced concerns over what it described as "a dangerous escalation between Tehran and Tel Aviv," urging both "to exercise the utmost self-control so as to avoid further instability in the region." 

Observers believe that Egypt has been viewing Iran as a security threat for being known for aiding Islamist and militant groups of concern to Cairo, including Hezbollah, the Palestinian Hamas faction ruling Gaza, Islamic Jihad and other armed groups.

The fear held by successive Egyptian regimes about the spread of Shiaism in Sunni-dominated countries has been another factor that may have impeded the restoration of bilateral ties. Nevertheless, the religious minority is marginalised and has been persecuted in the country for decades.

However, bilateral talks, sponsored mainly by Iraq, have been underway for over a year to re-establish official ties between Cairo and Tehran.

Israel's objection to Egypt being an ally of Iran is believed to have been another stumbling block to the reconciliation process given Tehran's nuclear programme, the sanctions imposed on it by the US, and its hostility with Tel Aviv, with whom Egypt has a peace treaty.