TEHRAN – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi agreed to “resolve” the remaining issues between the two countries during a phone call on Saturday. 

Mohammad Jamshidi, a political aide to the Iranian president, was the one to break the news, announcing that “the two presidents agreed to take concrete steps to resolve and settle the remaining issues between the two countries". The two presidents also discussed the latest developments in Gaza and the occupied territories, Jamshidi said in a post on X. 

As subsequently reported by the Iranian president’s website, Raisi congratulated el-Sisi for winning Egypt’s latest presidential elections during the phone call. He also called on Cairo “to use all its capacities to stop the Zionist regime's attacks on Gaza, start providing aid, and fulfill the rights of the people of Palestine."

The Egyptian leader, for his part, expressed his satisfaction with the opportunity to speak to Raisi, adding that "Iran and Egypt can play an effective role in establishing stability and security in the region due to their high historical and civilizational position and having diverse capacities."

In recent months, Iran and Egypt have been working to cultivate a closer relationship and heal longstanding rifts. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry convened on September 20 during the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani hailed the meeting as a pivotal moment in Tehran-Cairo relations, marking a positive step within Iran’s regional diplomacy initiatives.

In addition to diplomatic engagements, Iran’s Finance Minister Ehsan Khandouzi met with his Egyptian counterpart during a visit to Cairo in September. Both officials reached an agreement to establish a committee for overseeing joint projects. 

Egypt severed its diplomatic ties with Iran in 1980 following its welcoming of the deposed Pahlavi ruler and its recognition of the apartheid Israeli regime. 

Presently, discussions are underway between the two regional heavyweights regarding the potential reopening of their respective embassies in Iraq. Nevertheless, there are reports indicating that the Israeli regime is exerting pressure on Egypt to refrain from re-establishing ties with Iran.

According to Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper, Israeli delegates have purportedly undertaken covert visits to Cairo in an attempt to dissuade the government of President el-Sisi from reciprocating steps to restore diplomatic relations with Iran.