Egyptian officials have announced that Egyptian President and Muslim Brotherhood member Mohamed Morsi will be traveling to Iran later this month to attend a summit. It’s the first such trip for an Egyptian leader in decades, and the timing couldn’t be worse for Israel: for this announcement comes during the same week in which Iranian President Ahmadinejad described Israel as a “cancerous tumor” that will soon be removed.
The last thing Israel needs at a time like this are growing relations behind Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held staunchly anti-Iranian views. But once the Arab Spring swept Mubarak out of power, many officials made it clear they wanted a new direction for Egypt: one that included normalized relations with Iran. According to AP reports, Iranian foreign minister Nabil Elaraby has even announced: “Iran is not the enemy.”
There are still hurdles to be cleared, as Sunnis in Egypt harbor great suspicion of Iran’s political and religious motives. Nevertheless, if Morsi and Ahmadinejad can find common ground (say, a hatred of Israel), this could be the start of something terrible for the Jewish state.
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