John wrote:>>> "Islamists Regimes in Egypt and Iran seeking closer ties"
Utter nonsense.
Interesting response. Very absolutist.
The Muslim Brotherhood, who currently have control of Egypt, have many enemies.
The Salafi in Egypt, the secularists in Egypt, the Liberals in Egypt, the socialists in Egypt, the Christians in Egypt, a large part of the military in Egypt, the Saudi Arabian monarchy, many of the rich gulf states. The United Sates and Iran and Western Europe and Israel are more distant potential enemies of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Muslim Brotherhood's control of Egypt is new and somewhat fragile. Like many revolutionists that are suddenly in control of a country they are more worried about losing their control of Egypt than they are about distant external enemies of Egypt. They are not yet thinking in terms of extending their control to other countries, they are more focused on protecting and consolidating they control of Egypt. Think in terms of the Bolshevist in Russia suddenly gaining control of the government in Moscow. Former internal allies become their enemies and their biggest foreign enemy, Germany, signs a peace treaty with them ( the big difference of course is the white army supported by former foreign allies ) does not yet have a counterpart in Egypt).
Iran is a natural, bitter enemy of the United States and the Saudi Monarchy and Israel.
Iran currently has no chance, at this time, of occupying or controlling Egypt as a puppet state and their is no other internal player within Egypt that the Iranians could support against the Muslim Brotherhood. For that reason the current rulers of Egypt do not see Iran as threatening to the degree that Suadi Arabia or the United States or Europe could be. Israel is also not as a large an external threat to the Muslim Brotherhood Control of Egypt as Saudi Arabia or the United States or Europe.
The Muslim Brotherhood is already using the fear of closer ties between Egypt and Iran to leverage continued financial and military aid from the United States without the accompanying conditions of increased freedom and democratic reform within Egypt that accompanied aid the the Mubarak government of Egypt received.
The Muslim Brotherhood does see common cause with Iran against Israel and in favor of the Palestinians. The Muslim Brotherhood does not fear Iran's influence with the Palestinians because Hamas is a Sunni offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood and they believe Hamas would side with a Muslim Brotherhood controlled Egypt in a conflict with Iran. The PLO is secular, Sunni, and anti-Iran, so Iran is not a threat there.
Saudi Arabia, a bitter enemy of the Muslim Brotherhood, and a strong supporter of an internal enemy of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafi, is the bitter enemy of Iran.
The enemy of my enemy, is my friend is a strong motivation for closer relations economic, intelligence and economic relations with Iran.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have taken the lead in Syria opposing Iran's interests. Egypt's support has been more in the form of organizational and humanitarian aid for the Muslim Brotherhood within Syria.
I agree that if the Muslim Brotherhood gains concrete secure control of Egypt and the acceptance of a Muslim Brotherhood controlled Egypt as the major player within the Sunni Arab world, then Iran will become a main enemy. But right now Iran is more of an enemy of my enemy to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The fact remains, that cooperation between Egypt and Iran is increasing in the intelligence, military and economic areas, but since it started out at near zero, or below, that is not saying much by itself.
In my opinion it will increase significantly more for the purpose of keeping the United States and Saudi Arabia from interfering with the imposition of a Muslim Brotherhood dominated fundamentalist Islamic state in Egypt.