Iran false hope in Egypt

Since the outbreak of mass protest in the middle-east broke out more then a year ago, Iran has tried in vein to depict it as some kind of follow up to its own Islamic revolution which occurred in 1979. Back then, millions of Iranian took to the streets to protest against the then-dictator Shah Pahlavi. Their main demand were Islamic laws ruling the country. Today, the Regime in Tehran sees the current situation has ideal to push its brand of Islam onto other countries as they are going through political changes.


Unfortunately, the Iranian regime attempts to take ownership of the current revolutionary favors are falling on deaf ears. So far, none of the countries who have gone through changes, regards Iran has a model. Neither has any of them invited high ranking Iranian officials to visit. Tunisia and Egypt, for the most part, have kept their interaction with the Iranians on a low level. Don't expect to see Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tunisia or Egypt any time soon.

One issue that will remain a major irritant, as Iran tries to influence Egypt and Tunisia is the fact that they are both majority Sunni-led and the Sunni have never regarded Shia highly. So while the deposed dictators of Egypt and Tunisia were oppose to Iranian influence, it doesn't look like the new political change that are currently occurring in both country will give in to Iran influence.

A recent article by the Associated Press depicts exactly how dreamy the Iranian were when these uprising started more then a year ago, and now, it is clear that Iran will not only gain more influence in the region because of these revolutions, but it could even be more isolated. This isolation will be even more intense if Bashar Al-Assad, the current Syrian dictator, were to be deposed by the current uprising led by majority-sunni...These Sunni would be very hostile to Iran since the Iranian are sending weapons and personel to help Al-Assad crush the revolution.

Here are some line from the Associated Press article which is a very interesting reading.

CAIRO (AP) — Iran once saw the Arab Spring uprisings as a prime opportunity, hoping it would open the door for it to spread its influence in countries whose autocratic leaders long shunned Tehran's ruling clerics. But it is finding the new order no more welcoming. Egypt is a prime example.

Egypt has sporadically looked more friendly toward Iran since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak 16 months ago, and the rise of the Islamists here fueled the expectations of Tehran's clerical regime that it could make inroads.

Instead, it has been met with the deep mistrust felt by many in mainly Sunni Muslim Egypt toward non-Arab, Shiite-dominated Iran — as well as Cairo's reluctance to sacrifice good relations with Iran's rivals, the United States and the oil-rich Arab nations of the Gulf.