TEHRAN – The top diplomats of Iran and Egypt held a telephone conversation on Sunday during which they discussed bilateral relations, regional affairs, and the issue of Palestine. 

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry exchanged views after getting to hold a meeting in Geneva in February on the sidelines of the 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

In their Sunday conversation, the two officials reviewed the positive developments in recent months in bilateral relations and discussed ways to develop ties based on the will of the political leaders of the two countries.

In this framework and following the important meeting of the presidents of Iran and Egypt in Riyadh, the two sides agreed on the continuation of contacts and meetings to develop and improve relations between Tehran and Cairo.

Amir Abdollahian and Shoukry also reviewed the latest developments related to the barbaric attacks of the Zionist regime on the Gaza Strip and expressed great concern over the continued killing of Palestinian women, children, and civilians and the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. They stressed the urgency of stopping the genocidal attacks of the Israeli regime on Gaza, especially the implementation of the recent UN Security Council resolution, and the need to send large-scale international humanitarian aid to the residents of the entire Palestinian territory. 

The foreign ministers of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Arab Republic of Egypt, while opposing any plan by the Zionists for the forced migration of the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip, emphasized the need for effective measures by international organizations to prevent the invasion of the occupying Zionist regime in Rafah in the south of Gaza.

Emphasizing the important role of the resistance in Palestine, Amir Abdollahian assessed the recent official visit of Sheikh Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of Hamas, and Ziyad al-Nakhalah, the secretary-general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, to Tehran as important.

Diplomatic engagements have been increasing between the two countries since Ebrahim Raisi took office as Iran’s president in 2022. Ties between Iran and Egypt were severed in 1980 after Cairo welcomed the deposed Pahlavi ruler and recognized the Israeli regime. 

Reports show that Israel has been pressuring Egypt to prevent it from developing closer ties with Iran.