Morsi’s Egypt and Ahmadinejad’s Iran: Much Ado Over Next to Nothing
EXECUTIVE SUMMA
RY: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s hosting last week of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad signals a potential improvement in ties between Egypt and Iran. It also sends a strong message to the US that Morsi’s Egypt is different than Mubarak’s Egypt.
Morsi’s move, however, will backfire, as it endangers Cairo’s receiving much-needed economic aid from the US and Gulf states. Ultimately he needs the US and Gulf countries more than they need him.
Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first elected president, is learning the hard way about how difficult it is to implement personal convictions as head of state. Domestically he was surprised by the resistance put up by the national opposition to his attempts to politically Islamize Egypt. In foreign affairs, his attempts to improve relations with Iran by personally inviting Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which the Iranians would have in any event attended, will run against stiff opposition that no red carpet, fanfare, and ceremonies at Cairo airport can possibly hide.