Egypt
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. However, relations between the two countries collapsed with the sudden eruption of the Islamic revolution in Iran in 197879. When the Shah fell, Egypt was bound to disapprove of his replacement, Ruhollah Khomeini, who returned the sentiment in full measure. Furthermore, in 1979, Anwar Sadat infuriated the new Iranian government by welcoming Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the exiled Shah of Iran, for a short, but indefinite, stay.[13] In 1979, Iran officially cut all ties with Egypt.[14] This move was a response to the 1978 Camp David Accords, as well as Egypt's support for Iraq in the IraqIran War.[15] In 1981, Iran symbolically dedicated a street to Khaled Islambouli, Sadat's assassin.[15]
While trade relations slowly improved during the 1990s,[15] Khaled al-Islambouli was honored for a second time in 2001 "with a huge new mural" in Tehran.[13] Two years later, in late 2003, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami met with the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Geneva. Khatami openly invited Mubarak to Iran, but Mubarak refused to make such a trip or normalize relations until all "public tributes" to Islambouli were "erased". In early 2004, Iran agreed to change the offending street name to Muhammad al-Durrah, a 12-year-old Palestinian boy who was killed by the IDF in the opening days of the Second Intifada.[15]
In 2010, leaked diplomatic cables revealed that Mubarak expressed animosity toward Iran in private meetings, saying the Iranian leaders are "big, fat liars", and that Iran's backing of terrorism is "well-known".[16] According to one American report, Mubarak views Iran as the primary long-term challenge facing Egypt, and an Egyptian official said that Iran is running agents inside Egypt in an effort to subvert the Egyptian regime.[17]