At a news conference Tuesday in Tehran, Iranian government spokesperson Ali Bahadori Jahromi said President Ebrahim Raisi has tasked the Foreign Ministry to initiate the formal process for the full restoration of ties with Egypt.
The announcement came one day after the Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq Al Said met Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a high-stakes two-day official visit to Iran.
Jahromi said the Islamic Republic is ready to resume full diplomatic ties with the Arab country, signaling Iran's desire to boost ties with regional countries amid a normalization wave.
During his meeting with the sultan, who was in Tehran at the invitation of Raisi, the ayatollah endorsed the process of reconciliation with Egypt, which was the main takeaway from the readout of the meeting, also attended by Raisi and other top officials.
He welcomed Oman's mediation efforts aimed at potential rapprochement between Tehran and Cairo, asserting that Iran has "no problem in this regard."
The Iranian leader's comments, according to his website, came in response to Haitham "conveying Egypt's willingness for the resumption of ties with Iran."
Khamenei also had a word of praise for the Raisi administration's neighborhood-centric foreign policy, which has paved the way for normalization between Iran and its Persian Gulf neighbors.
"Sultan Haitham's meeting with Iran's leader formalized the informal fence-mending talks between Tehran and Cairo, mediated by Oman," strategic affairs analyst Abuzar Ibrahimi told Anadolu. "Ayatollah Khamenei's endorsement means decks have been cleared for Iran-Egypt détente."
