After 30 years of severed relations, Egypt and Iran will resume direct flights between their capitals, but experts do not expect that the signed agreement will be a prelude for the two countries to restore their political relations.

DUBAI (Saud al-Zahid)

After 30 years of severed relations, Egypt and Iran will resume direct flights between their capitals, but experts do not expect that the signed agreement will be a prelude for the two countries to restore their political relations.

The new agreement will allow 28 weekly flights between Cairo and Tehran.

Dr. Ali Reza Nourizadeh, an expert in Iranian-Arab issues told Alarabiya.net that real political relations between Egypt and Iran will be postponed until real transparent talks could take place.

German News Agency reported that Iran’s Tourism Minister and Vice President Hamid Baghaei, who arrived in Egypt last Friday to sign the agreement between the two countries, had tours in Luxor, the ancient city of Thebes in southern Egypt, but media were not allowed to cover his tour of the archaeological sites.

A group of Iranian academics who stayed anonymous gave Alarabiya.net a skeptical report and said resuming flights between Cairo and Tehran is only for Iran to consolidate its pro-Iran groups inside Egypt and to grow in influence over the peace process between Palestine and Israel.

The Iranian expert’s also added that Tehran has reaped a lot of political rewards through its relation with Damascus as it served its Middle East strategic policies, but relations with Egypt is far more difficult to restore as Egyptians are still doubtful of Iran’s intentions as Iran will never get rid of its proxy organizations in the Middle East including Egypt to pursue its regional influence.

Dr. Zadah pointed out to the incident when Egypt arrested a Hezbollah cell working for Iran in Egypt, and said “it is not possible for Egypt to shake hands with Iran when the other hand is carrying a dagger.”


People’s relations are apolitical

He added in his talk with Alarabiya.net that the political schism between the two capitals cannot severe the historical, cultural and human relations between the two nations.

“Iranians love Egyptian music and the Shah’s first wife was princess Fawziya, the sister of the former Egyptian king Farouq.”

He also said that Iranians admire Jamal Abdul Nasser after he nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956, a step followed the nationalization of oil in Iran by former Iranian prime minister Mohammed Mosaddegh.

Despite political tensions, Iranians and Egyptians have seen an improvement in their relationship on a human level, he said, pointing out to the fact that there are thousands of Iranians visiting Egypt, and among them hundreds of students studying in Egyptian universities, some of them have obtained aviation training certificates from Egypt.

“Cairo did not intend to cut its relation with Tehran and contrary to the desire of the first prime minister Mahdi Bazirjan after the 1979 revolution; it was Khomeini’s decision to cut ties.”

During the reformist period of Iran’s former prime minister Mohammed Khatami many steps were taken with great precision and importance to rekindle and mend relations, he added.

“The first Iranian national airline was established by an Egyptian citizen named Ahmed Shafiq who later married the sister of the Shah, Princess Ashraf Bahlavi, and today the agreement was signed by Iranian VP and Tourism Minister Baghai and Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister who happens to have the same name Ahmed Shafiq.”

(Translated from Arabic by Dina al-Shibeeb)