Iran’s Foreign Minister arrives in Cairo on his first visit to Egypt in more than a decade

MADRID 17 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Foreign Minister of Iran, Abbas Araqchi, arrived this Wednesday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, in what is the first visit of the head of Iranian diplomacy to Egypt in more than a decade within the framework of his round of consultations. diplomatic efforts in order to ease tensions in the Middle East.

“We are in Cairo, Egypt, now. Iran and Egypt are important countries in history and civilization, and influential players in the region. Tomorrow we will hold important talks with high-level Egyptian officials,” Araqchi spokesman Esmail said. Baghaei, in his profile on the social network X.

The last visit to Egypt by a head of Iranian diplomacy dates back to January 2013, when Ali Akbar Salehi held the position. Before this trip, Araqchi has been to Jordan, and plans to go to Türkiye.

This is the eighth destination of the regional tour within the framework of its diplomatic efforts to stop the war in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. In recent days he has been in Iraq, Lebanon, Oman, Syria and Saudi Arabia.

Hostilities in the region erupted after Hamas and other Palestinian factions launched a series of attacks against Israel on October 7 that left nearly 1,200 dead and more than 250 hostages. The Israeli Army then began a bloody military campaign against Gaza that has so far left more than 42,400 dead and more than 99,000 injured, in addition to more than 750 Palestinian deaths in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The attacks of October 7, called ‘Al Aqsa Flood’ by Hamas and its allies, also led to the opening of the front on the border between Israel and Lebanon, with constant fighting for more than eleven months that led on Tuesday to the beginning of a new invasion of Lebanese territory. In addition, the Houthis and pro-Iran militias in Iraq have launched missiles and drones against Israel – which has carried out bombings against the territory of Lebanon, Syria and Yemen -.