• 18:50
  • Monday ,21 January 2013
العربية

Egypt and Iran with Qatar

J.M Fahmy

Article Of The Day

00:01

Monday ,21 January 2013

Egypt and Iran with Qatar

In my open letter to the world last week I mentioned Iran and Qatar militants that the empowered president Morsy secretly assigned to protect his regime. Let us briefly review what this means.
In 1939, diplomatic relations between Egypt and Iran were upgraded to ambassadorial level, and Youssef Zulficar Pasha was appointed as Egypt's first ambassador in Tehran. In the same year, Princess Fawzia of Egypt, the sister of King Farouk I, married Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the then crown prince (later shah) of Iran. "Ties between the countries -- among the largest and most influential in the Middle East -- were severed in 1980 following Iran's Islamic revolution and Egypt's recognition of Israel. Egypt is the only Arab country not to have an embassy in Iran. Contentious issues include Egypt's signing of the Camp David Accords with Israel in 1979, its support for Iraq in Iran's eight-year conflict, the Islamic Republic's hailing of Khalid Islambouli, the late President Anwar Sadat's assassin as a religious hero, seeing as there was both a street and mural named after him (however, the honouree was changed to Muhammad al-Durrah, the 12-year-old Palestinian boy shot and killed during the outset of the Second Intifada), and close Egyptian relations with the United States, and most of the Western European countries. In 2007, relations between the two countries thawed in the fields of diplomacy and economic trade, only to retreat during the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict when Iranian and Egyptian politicians exchanged blames over inaction towards the escalation of the conflict. It was not until the official resignation of President Hosni Mubarak in February 2012 that relations started to improve significantly. In April 2012, Iran appointed an ambassador to Egypt. Soon after Mohammed Morsi visited Iran in August 2012, it was decided to re-establish bilateral diplomatic relations, with rededication of embassy locations. A first ambassador was nominated to represent Egypt in Iran. While overall relations have been steadily improving, continued tensions between Iran, Saudi Arabia and allied Western nations have put this development into question.
Bilateral visits

Following the 2011 Egyptian revolution, and the appointment of ambassadors after nearly 30 years, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi made a historic first visit to Iran since the Islamic revolution for the 2012 Non-Aligned Movement summit on 30 August, where it handed over the rotating presidency to Iran. Moreover recently very high level Iranian Intelligence officials how previously visited and advised Syrian President Bashar El Assad how to deal with opposition; those officials did not pay visits to their counter parts of Egyptian officials but secretly visited Moslem Brotherhood –MB- party and officials and obviously president Morsi!
The question here is: Is it a sudden love for Egypt and recognition of its importance in the region or kind of pay back revenge?
I’ll leave this question to move forward to Qatar relations with Egypt
Qatar achieved full independence on 3 September 1971 in an atmosphere of cooperation with the United Kingdom, the United States of America and friendship with neighbouring states. Most Arab states were also among the first countries to recognise Qatar, and the state promptly gained admittance to the United Nations and the Arab League. Qatar established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, and Communist China in 1988. Qatar was also an early member of OPEC and a founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Qatar's foreign policy and external relations are managed by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, following the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, Qatar hosted an emergency conference of Arab states and Iran to discuss the conflict. The Hamas administration in Gaza, as opposed to the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, represented the Palestinians, undermining support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbass. Khalid Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, and President Ahmadinejad of Iran urged all Arab states with remaining ties to Israel to cut them. In effect, Qatar, along with Mauritania, cut all remaining ties with Israel. The conference showed the rising Arab support for Hamas over Fatah as well as the influence of anti-Israeli leaders like al-Assad of Syria and Ahmadinejad of Iran.
As a reminder, of Egypt’s role in this conflict we have:
The breach of the Gaza-Egypt border began on 23 January 2008, after Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip set off an explosion near the Rafah Border Crossing, destroying part of the Israel and Egypt – Gaza Strip barrier. The United Nations estimates that as many as half the 1.5 million population of the Gaza Strip crossed the border into Egypt seeking food and supplies. Israeli police went on an increased alert due to fears that militants would acquire weapons in Egypt. Egypt closed the Rafah Border Crossing in June 2007, days before the Hamas took control of Gaza at the end of the Fatah-Hamas conflict. The breach followed a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel beginning in part that same June, with fuel supply reductions in October 2007.  A total blockade had begun on 17 January 2008 following a rise in rocket attacks on Israel emanating from Gaza.

Although Israel demanded Egypt reseal the border due to security concerns, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered his troops to allow crossings to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, while verifying that the Gazans did not attempt to bring weapons back into Gaza.

The United Nations Human Rights Council condemned Israel for the 15th time in less than two years on 24 January, calling the blockade collective punishment. However, the proceedings were boycotted by Israel and the United States.

On 27 January 2008, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised that Israel would no longer disrupt the supply of food, medicine and necessary energy into the Gaza Strip. President Mubarak meanwhile announced plans to meet separately with representatives of Hamas and Fatah to come to a new border control agreement.

In five days, Gazans spent some US$250 million in Egypt's North Sinai Governorate's capital of Arish alone. The sudden enormous demand there for staple products led to large local price rises and some shortages.

On 3 February 2008, Gaza's Foreign minister, Mahmoud al-Zahar, announced that Hamas and Egypt would cooperate in controlling the border without Israeli oversight. The border was closed, after 11 days, except for travellers returning home.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia refused to attend the emergency conference of the Arab stars and Iran because Iran never was or will be part of the Arab league; However Saudi Arabia instantly organized another conference seeking and organizing funds to help Gaza people in which president Mubarak met Khilifa bin Hamad the second and re-established the tensioned political relation due to Mubarak’s stance from the conference held in Qatar!
 

 In 2010, Qatar twice offered to restore trade relations with Israel and allow the reinstatement of the Israeli mission in Doha, on condition that Israel allow Qatar to send building materials and money to Gaza to help rehabilitate infrastructure, and that Israel make a public statement expressing appreciation for Qatar's role and acknowledging its standing in the Middle East. Israel refused, on the grounds that Qatari supplies could be used by Hamas to build bunkers and reinforced positions from which to fire rockets at Israeli cities and towns, and that Israel did not want to get involved in the competition between Qatar and Egypt over the Middle East mediation.

As we see there was historical reasons for Iran and Qatar to retaliate from Egypt, the leadership changed in Egypt more than once but same leaders of Iran and Qatar remained in power, could be good intentions from new leaders of Egypt but does this ensures good intentions of Iran or Qatar?

Is it out of good intentions this secret visit of intelligence officials from Iran that did not visit or meat with Egyptian Intelligence officials?

What are the good intentions of Qatar providing funds for projects and takes control of Suez Canal or city?
Where any country took control of another country’s city towards financial assistance?

Unanswered questions raise more in this turmoil created by Morsi and MB future will answer some of them but for sure Egypt blessed by God will survive like it always did.