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Iran’s Foreign Minister recently met with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, marking the first visit by an Iranian official to Cairo in over ten years. This meeting highlights ongoing diplomatic efforts to prevent a broader regional conflict. Discussions between Abbas Araghchi and President Sisi on Thursday centered around negotiating a ceasefire in Gaza, according to the Egyptian foreign ministry.
This diplomatic initiative coincides with Israel’s announcement that it had killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was responsible for orchestrating the October 7 attack on Israel, during an operation in Gaza. However, Hamas has yet to confirm Sinwar’s death. Israel’s conflict with Hamas has escalated beyond Gaza into Lebanon, targeting Iran-backed Hizbollah militants. The region is anticipating Israel’s response to nearly 200 ballistic missiles launched by Iran earlier this month, following an Israeli air strike that killed Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last month.
Araghchi’s visit to Cairo came after nighttime strikes by U.S. stealth bombers targeting locations in Yemen to mitigate threats to maritime routes from Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, who have been attacking ships in the Red Sea.
Iran, predominantly a Shia Muslim nation, has had a complex relationship with Sunni-majority Arab states like Egypt, which have long accused Tehran of regional destabilization through proxy groups such as Hizbollah and the Houthi rebels. Hizbollah is seen as Iran’s most formidable regional proxy force.
Despite the severing of diplomatic ties between Cairo and Tehran following the 1979 Iranian revolution, Iran’s former president Ebrahim Raisi met Sisi in Riyadh in 2023. Recently, Arab nations, especially the affluent Gulf states, have sought to ease tensions with their long-standing rival, Iran. Araghchi’s visit to Egypt is part of a regional tour that includes Saudi Arabia, during which Iranian diplomats have encouraged Gulf states to remain “neutral” amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
Iran held a funeral procession on Thursday in Isfahan for Abbas Nilforoushan, a senior commander killed alongside Nasrallah. Major General Hossein Salami, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, issued a warning, suggesting that if Israel strikes Iran’s targets again, there would be a painful retaliation.
The Houthi group has not commented on the U.S. strikes in Yemen but stated that their actions to disrupt global shipping are intended to support Palestinians in Gaza. Yemeni media reported that the strikes targeted the cities of Sana’a and Saada.
The U.S. military emphasized that using the B-2 bomber demonstrates American capabilities to execute global strikes anywhere. Analysts interpreted this as a significant message to Iran ahead of a potential Israeli retaliation.
Israeli jets continued to launch attacks in southern Lebanon, following the release of Israeli Defense Force footage showing troops destroying a village containing a historic shrine and a Hizbollah tunnel network. Hizbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah claimed Israeli forces had not captured any villages in southern Lebanon but mentioned that the group is collaborating with Lebanese parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri to negotiate a ceasefire with Israel. The report was supplemented by contributions from Steff Chavez in Washington.