Egypt Seeks to Balance Iran and the Gulf States

An Iranian presidential aide will soon travel to Cairo to deliver an invitation from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to new Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to attend the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran from Aug. 26 and Aug. 31. Tehran has issued numerous invitations to Egyptian government officials over the last few months, all part of Iran's public and repeated attempts to normalize ties with Cairo following the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak in early 2011. Tehran will continue to try to develop its relationships with Egypt and other Arab states. For its part, Egypt will seek to balance Tehran's overtures against the fears of Gulf Cooperation Council states.