‘The Ice Has Broken’: Outgoing Iranian Envoy Hails Thaw in Tehran-Cairo Relations

According to Saed News, Mohammad Hossein Soltanifar, who has led Iran’s Office for the Protection of Interests in Egypt — a quasi-embassy maintained in lieu of formal diplomatic ties — said that the two countries are now engaged in “unrestricted dialogue and consultations,” despite not having re-established full diplomatic relations.

Posting on X to mark the end of his three-year assignment, Soltanifar described his term as a period marked by “complex ups and downs,” but said recent developments had left him “content” with the trajectory of bilateral engagement. “By the grace of God, the ice in relations has been broken,” he wrote, adding that “commonalities and shared interests are now more visible and significant than ever before.”

Relations between the two regional heavyweights have remained fraught since Egypt recognised Israel and Iran overthrew the Shah in 1979. The decades since have seen intermittent attempts at rapprochement, but without lasting diplomatic breakthrough.

In recent years, however, Tehran and Cairo appear to be edging closer. Senior officials, including the presidents and foreign ministers of both countries, have met repeatedly, and official visits have become increasingly routine. Cooperation has also deepened on regional flashpoints — most notably the war in Gaza, where both capitals have sought to influence outcomes through diplomacy and back-channel coordination.

Soltanifar ended his message with a note of thanks to Egyptian officials, party leaders, journalists and public figures, saying he hoped for “days filled with peace and stability” across the region.

While no formal announcement has yet been made regarding the full restoration of embassies, the tone of Soltanifar’s farewell suggests that quiet diplomacy is paving the way for a normalisation that, not long ago, seemed improbable.