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Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 July 1999 Issue No. 436 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 July 1999 Issue No. 436
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Special Interview Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Taking time on Iran
Gamal Essam El-DinA recent visit paid by an Egyptian parliamentary delegation to the Iranian capital, Tehran, has once again raised the issue of the future of relations between Egypt and Iran, broken off in 1979 by the latter's Islamic revolution. The three-member delegation, headed by Mohamed Abdellah, chairman of the People's Assembly's Foreign Relations Committee, went to Tehran to represent Egypt at the Constituent Convention of the Parliamentary Union of the Member-States of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
Upon his return from the seven-day visit, Abdellah told Al-Ahram Weekly that many steps have first to be taken before the two countries can restore full and normal diplomatic relations.
Abdellah said Egypt and Iran recently managed to defuse much of the tension which had plagued their relations. "Shortly before our visit to Tehran, President Hosni Mubarak affirmed in a press interview that Egypt is keen on having good and friendly relations with all countries, including Iran. In reaction, some moderate Iranian officials, especially Ali Natiq-Nouri, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, promised that Iran would consider changing the name of a Tehran Street called after Khaled El-Islambouli, leader of President Anwar El-Sadat's assassination squad. At the same time, the foreign ministries of the two countries indicated that any tension in bilateral relations would remain at a low ebb," Abdellah said.
However, Abdellah said, there is a general recognition, in political and diplomatic circles, that the time is not yet ripe for the full restoration of relations. "There are two key players on the Iranian political stage: moderates and radicals. The moderates, who are led by President Mohamed Khatami, are eager to see Iran have normal relations with moderate Arab countries, such as Egypt. By contrast, the radicals, led by the spiritual leader of Iran's revolution, Ali Khamenei, still believe that Egypt 'is a tool used by the United States to serve American interests in the Middle East'," said Abdellah.
"At the end of our visit, we were surprised to find out that some of those radical forces were able to hang high a wall-painting of El-Islambouli in the middle of the street called after him. This was strange because we were warmly received by Iranian officials. When I met Natiq-Nouri, I explained to him that one might be tempted to think that this action was supported or organised by the state authorities themselves," said Abdellah. According to him, Natiq-Nouri responded by emphasising that "the action was the work of some irresponsible boys."
Abdellah argued that the "action shows clearly that there are two conflicting forces in Iran over the issue of restoring full relations with Egypt."
Abdellah said that in all the interviews he had had with Iranian television channels and newspapers, he had emphasised that the wall-painting incident should not result in a deterioration in relations between the two countries. "However, I explained that this action is an unacceptable intervention in the internal affairs of Egypt. It also hurt the feelings of Egyptians," said Abdellah.
He also said that he had attempted to explain to "radical forces" that the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel was concluded for sheer national security considerations. "Iran should respect these considerations in the same way Egypt has respect for Iran's security interests in the Gulf area. I also emphasised that Iran and Egypt are two regional powers and it is better for them and the entire area to have good relations," Abdellah said.
Speaking on the Constituent Convention of Islamic States, Abdellah said the Egyptian parliamentary delegation objected to calling the convention 'the Organisation of Islamic Councils'. "In the opening session, we said a new name should be picked to reflect that the participating delegations in this convention are members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC)," said Abdellah.
He also said that the convention reached the decision that the secretary-general of the proposed organisation should be an Arab, while Tehran would be the headquarters of the organisation's secretariat-general.
Abdellah explained that the objective of the proposed organisation is to help forge closer solidarity among Islamic countries and conduct a dialogue with non-Islamic states.
The Egyptian delegation included Ahmed Omar Hashem and Amin Mubarak, chairmen of parliament's religious and industry committees respectively.
