Irans Mixed Feelings About Egypt
By: Ali Hashem for Al-Monitor
Posted on July 14.
News of the fall of Egypt's former President Mohammed Morsi was received in Tehran with mixed feelings. Never did the relations between Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood deteriorate to the level they did prior to Morsi's impeachment.
A couple of years ago, when Egypts revolution succeeded in toppling then-President Hosni Mubarak, Iran celebrated. There were clear indications that the Muslim Brotherhood would assume power in Cairo, and to the Iranians this meant that Israel would be surrounded by Iran's allies from almost all sides.
We thought the Muslim Brotherhood would take a different approach with regard to Israel, a senior Iranian diplomat told Al-Monitor in Beirut on Saturday. Syria was one reason for falling apart, but we had many other commons to agree, though this didnt happen.
According to the diplomat, Iran considered its position after the Brotherhoods fall in Egypt, We didnt make a quick response, as we needed time to assess the situation and see the implications of the fall on the Islamic movements in the region.
For a few days after Morsis fall on July 3, only a small number of Iranian officials were heard commenting on the news. It was clear that there was no clear position, and sometimes the statements seemed contradictory.
The main statement was by an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman whose words were vague and without any clear content. An Iranian journalist who did not want to be identified commented on the statement by saying, "Iran had nothing to say, but its role as a regional player duly require it to take a stance, hence the spokesman said something that meant nothing."
On July 5, Tehrans Friday prayer leader Imam Sayyed Ahmad Khatami commented on the incident by stating that the Muslim Brotherhood had lost everything because of its ties with the United States and Israel: Before coming to power, their slogan was to struggle against Israel, but after they came to power, not only did we not see the materialization of this slogan but they renewed the shameful Camp David Accords, wrote a letter to Shimon Peres calling him a brother and sent an ambassador to the Zionist regime. Khatami added, They confuse their friends with their enemies, they launch Iran-phobia and Shiite-phobia and tie their hearts to their enemies. The president of Egypt consults with US President Barack Obama and talks about this in their media. This action brought 10 million people to the scene and resulted in the coup.
The word coup was used by other Iranian officials on several occasions, which gave the impression that Tehran was tending toward supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. This raised many questions with Irans allies who thought the Islamic Republic would commit a big mistake if it decided to stand by the Brotherhood.
There was a need for a clear stance, said the senior Iranian diplomat, The Brotherhood refused all our offers to enhance ties, they dealt with us in a hostile manner. The diplomat recalls Morsis visit to Iran, It was meant to change history but the Egyptian president gave us the impression that he was Sadat visiting Israel. The diplomat elaborated further on the relations during the last year remembering Irans outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads visit to Cairo: The visit gave us a clear indication that the old Muslim Brotherhood had changed, and not only them but even some of our close allies who are affiliated with them.
The clear stance the senior diplomat was talking about came from Irans Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, who called the Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr and stressed Irans support for the peoples choice praising the Egyptian army.
The Muslim Brotherhood regime was not different from Mubarak, said the Iranian diplomat. They didnt cut relations with Israel, President Morsi calls the Israeli president "my dear friend" and moreover, they incited hatred among Muslims. How are we going to support them? He added, We respect the Muslim Brotherhood as a group, as an ideology, history, struggle, but not the current leadership.
Kamal Khalaf al-Tawil is a Washington-based historian who wrote on several occasions about the relations between the Islamic revolution in Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood. This is the second time they have fallen apart because of Syria, said Tawil, He added, "The first time was when Imam Khomeini came to power in 1979. They offered to announce him as the imam of all Muslims, Shiites and Sunnis, on the condition that he would help topple former Syrian President Hafez Assad. According to Tawil, Back then, Imam Khomeini told the Muslim Brotherhood delegation that as far as Assad considers Israel as his enemy, Iran will only offer getting them together during a roundtable, so the Muslim Brotherhood delegation decided to leave and the relations froze.
Many questions beg to be asked after Irans new stance on the Brotherhood. One such question is: What about the future relationship between Hamas and Iran, knowing that Hamas is the Palestinian branch of the Brotherhood?
Ali Hashem is an Arab journalist serving as Al Mayadeen news network's chief correspondent. Until March 2012, Ali was Al Jazeera's war correspondent, and prior to that was a senior journalist at the BBC. Ali wrote for several Arab newspapers, including the Lebanese daily As Safir, Egyptian dailies Al-Masry Al-Youm and Aldostor, the Jordanian daily Alghad and also contributed to The Guardian.
Iran
By: Ali Hashem for Al-Monitor
Posted on July 14.
News of the fall of Egypt's former President Mohammed Morsi was received in Tehran with mixed feelings. Never did the relations between Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood deteriorate to the level they did prior to Morsi's impeachment.
A couple of years ago, when Egypts revolution succeeded in toppling then-President Hosni Mubarak, Iran celebrated. There were clear indications that the Muslim Brotherhood would assume power in Cairo, and to the Iranians this meant that Israel would be surrounded by Iran's allies from almost all sides.
We thought the Muslim Brotherhood would take a different approach with regard to Israel, a senior Iranian diplomat told Al-Monitor in Beirut on Saturday. Syria was one reason for falling apart, but we had many other commons to agree, though this didnt happen.
According to the diplomat, Iran considered its position after the Brotherhoods fall in Egypt, We didnt make a quick response, as we needed time to assess the situation and see the implications of the fall on the Islamic movements in the region.
For a few days after Morsis fall on July 3, only a small number of Iranian officials were heard commenting on the news. It was clear that there was no clear position, and sometimes the statements seemed contradictory.
The main statement was by an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman whose words were vague and without any clear content. An Iranian journalist who did not want to be identified commented on the statement by saying, "Iran had nothing to say, but its role as a regional player duly require it to take a stance, hence the spokesman said something that meant nothing."
On July 5, Tehrans Friday prayer leader Imam Sayyed Ahmad Khatami commented on the incident by stating that the Muslim Brotherhood had lost everything because of its ties with the United States and Israel: Before coming to power, their slogan was to struggle against Israel, but after they came to power, not only did we not see the materialization of this slogan but they renewed the shameful Camp David Accords, wrote a letter to Shimon Peres calling him a brother and sent an ambassador to the Zionist regime. Khatami added, They confuse their friends with their enemies, they launch Iran-phobia and Shiite-phobia and tie their hearts to their enemies. The president of Egypt consults with US President Barack Obama and talks about this in their media. This action brought 10 million people to the scene and resulted in the coup.
The word coup was used by other Iranian officials on several occasions, which gave the impression that Tehran was tending toward supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. This raised many questions with Irans allies who thought the Islamic Republic would commit a big mistake if it decided to stand by the Brotherhood.
There was a need for a clear stance, said the senior Iranian diplomat, The Brotherhood refused all our offers to enhance ties, they dealt with us in a hostile manner. The diplomat recalls Morsis visit to Iran, It was meant to change history but the Egyptian president gave us the impression that he was Sadat visiting Israel. The diplomat elaborated further on the relations during the last year remembering Irans outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads visit to Cairo: The visit gave us a clear indication that the old Muslim Brotherhood had changed, and not only them but even some of our close allies who are affiliated with them.
The clear stance the senior diplomat was talking about came from Irans Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, who called the Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr and stressed Irans support for the peoples choice praising the Egyptian army.
The Muslim Brotherhood regime was not different from Mubarak, said the Iranian diplomat. They didnt cut relations with Israel, President Morsi calls the Israeli president "my dear friend" and moreover, they incited hatred among Muslims. How are we going to support them? He added, We respect the Muslim Brotherhood as a group, as an ideology, history, struggle, but not the current leadership.
Kamal Khalaf al-Tawil is a Washington-based historian who wrote on several occasions about the relations between the Islamic revolution in Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood. This is the second time they have fallen apart because of Syria, said Tawil, He added, "The first time was when Imam Khomeini came to power in 1979. They offered to announce him as the imam of all Muslims, Shiites and Sunnis, on the condition that he would help topple former Syrian President Hafez Assad. According to Tawil, Back then, Imam Khomeini told the Muslim Brotherhood delegation that as far as Assad considers Israel as his enemy, Iran will only offer getting them together during a roundtable, so the Muslim Brotherhood delegation decided to leave and the relations froze.
Many questions beg to be asked after Irans new stance on the Brotherhood. One such question is: What about the future relationship between Hamas and Iran, knowing that Hamas is the Palestinian branch of the Brotherhood?
Ali Hashem is an Arab journalist serving as Al Mayadeen news network's chief correspondent. Until March 2012, Ali was Al Jazeera's war correspondent, and prior to that was a senior journalist at the BBC. Ali wrote for several Arab newspapers, including the Lebanese daily As Safir, Egyptian dailies Al-Masry Al-Youm and Aldostor, the Jordanian daily Alghad and also contributed to The Guardian.
Iran
