TEHRAN - Chairman of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs has noted that Cairo does not require mediation to fully reestablish diplomatic ties with Iran.

Speaking with the Arab World Press (AWP) on Tuesday, Mohamed el-Orabi said that Cairo and Tehran are still in communication, but it is not necessary for them to be broadcast.

“It is very simple, it should not become complicated; Tehran-Cairo relations will be fully restored eventually, but Egypt has its reservations,” Orabi noted. 

The announcement comes amid rumors that the two regional powerhouses are holding behind-the-scenes talks and would soon reopen their respective embassies.

Orabi further noted that Egypt and Iran maintain ongoing diplomatic relations that have not been broken.

But when it comes to the re-establishment of relationships, he said, “determining factors” that are “unique in essence” should be taken into account.

“Iran is an active country in the region, and rapprochement with it is linked to other issues like the status quo in Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon,” the senior Egyptian official stressed. 

He emphasized that while it is challenging to set a specific timetable for the restoration of Egypt-Iran ties, progress might be made if any of the aforementioned concerns were to be resolved.

In late June, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian praised the restoration of diplomatic ties between Tehran and Riyadh and declared that his nation was ready for the same to happen with Egypt and Morocco.

Amir Abdollahian stressed that improving ties with Islamic and regional countries is Iran’s top foreign policy aim.

In 1980, Egypt broke diplomatic ties with Tehran after it welcomed the ousted Pahlavi king and normalized ties with the Israeli apartheid regime. 

In June, an Iranian diplomat, Mohammad Hossein Soltanifar, who is the head of the office representing Iran’s interests in Egypt, said that Iran is making efforts to raise the level of relations with Egypt to ambassador. 

He also noted that improvement in Tehran-Cairo relations would leave a major impact on the region.

“If this convergence takes place and the relations between the two countries improve, we will see a very positive and important impact, firstly on the Iranian-Arab relationship and secondly on the developments in the region, especially Palestine,” Soltanifar said.

He went on to add, “Considering the positions and points of view of the Islamic Republic of Iran in this field, we will witness commonalities that can be effective in solving the Palestinian issue.”