When the crisis in Egypt erupted in early July, Iran had mixed feelings about what was happening there. The fact that the Muslim Brotherhood during its reign dealt in a hostile way with Tehran left an impression that the Iranians and their allies should be happy with the fall of President Mohammed Morsi and the Brotherhood. This was what many in Tehran thought, but this was not the case.

The case is that in Tehran there are serious fears that what used to be called the “Arab moderation bloc” led by Saudi Arabia and former President Hosni Mubarak’s Egypt has been revived with the full patronage of the United States and the blessing of Israel.

According to Al-Monitor’s source in Tehran, “Iran respects Egypt’s Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the new government, and all the movements that gave him political cover to overthrow Morsi; hence the real fear is that these bloody clashes might escalate into a bloody civil war,” our source added, “Egypt isn’t Syria, Egypt might be worse, just look around — there is destabilized Libya to its west, fragile Sudan to the south, and to the east Palestine, with Gaza the resistance’s last stronghold.” One of Iran’s main concerns is Gaza. The source said, “There are attempts to show the resistance in Gaza as terrorists, and that they are behind what’s happening in Sinai; this is a plan and it might be carried out by a third party who wants to widen the gap between the Egyptian government and its foes.” He added that this will not only affect the official relations, but even people’s  perceptions about the resistance.

Another main concern in Tehran is the fate of political Islam. “It’s not only the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood that is threatening political Islam,” the source said. “It’s rather a war launched by the pro-Western alliance led by the US and managed on the ground by its regional agents to mutilate Islam and harm its image. He said radicals were playing into Western hands by “committing atrocities and crimes.” He said that because of this — whether the violence stems from sectarian differences or  political affiliations —  “Muslims are seen by many  as criminals, cannibals and blood-shedders.”