Iran’s Mixed Feelings About Egypt
The coup against former President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood leads to questions about Iran-Hamas ties.
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 Egypt’s 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 didn’t happen.”
According to the diplomat, Iran considered its position after the Brotherhood’s fall in Egypt, “We didn’t 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.”
