Iran, Egypt to restore ties, reopen embassies 'soon' - source

Tehran and Cario have reached an agreement to restore diplomatic relations and reopen embassies following talks in Baghdad, Iranian lawmaker Fadahossein Maleki told The New Arab's Arabic language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Diplomatic relations between Egypt and Iran were "moving towards full revival", Maleki said, adding that the reopening of embassies was "on the agenda" but required "special mechanism, planning, and visits by delegations from both countries, as was the case with Saudi Arabia".

Maleki said that it was vital to restore ties to advance economic, trade, and investment cooperation, adding that Iraq's role in mediating talks between both countries was "positive and influential, helping to expedite the next steps in reopening embassies".

The Iranian MP expressed hope that "the reopening of Iranian and Egyptian embassies in both countries would take place as soon as possible", noting that "there are historical ties that bind Iran and Egypt, and they do not require much mediation".

Maleki also said that meetings between the countries' foreign ministers, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Sameh Shoukry, were expected to take place ahead of a meeting between Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Tehran's relations with Cairo, a close ally of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations, have been fraught since the ousting of Iran's shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The shah's subsequent refuge in Egypt, then under the rule of president Anwar Sadat, worsened relations. The shah died in 1980 in Egypt, where he is buried.

Egypt is notably the only Arab country that has not had an embassy in Tehran since 1979.