Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has traveled to Egypt to attend an economic summit in a rare visit that may signal thawing relations between the Islamic Republic and the Arab world's most populous nation.
Pezeshkian arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to attend in summit of the eight major Muslim developing countries, known as the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, slated to be held Thursday.
"The more we can strengthen relations with Islamic countries, the more we can thwart threats against Iran," said the president as before he departed for Egypt.
Earlier in the day, the head of Iran's Interests Section in Cairo Mohammad Hossein Soltanifar said that Iran can cooperate with Egypt in all spheres and take positive steps towards upgrading bilateral relations.
“This trip would mark a final step towards upgrading bilateral relations to the embassy level," he added.
The visit is the culmination of months of discreet diplomatic efforts, primarily facilitated by Iraq and Oman.
Last year, Iranian lawmaker Fada-Hossein Maleki, a member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy committee, said that talks to bolster ties between Iran and Egypt were being held regularly in Iraq, predicting that bilateral relations between Iran and Egypt would soon be restored, including the reopening of embassies.
Iran’s relations with Egypt, a close ally of Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf Arab nations, have been fraught since the Shah fell in 1979. The Shah sought refuge in Egypt during the presidency of Anwar Sadat, straining ties.
Iran named a Tehran street after Khaled Eslamboli, Sadat's Islamist assassin. The name was changed following the recent resumption of Iran’s ties with Saudi Arabia in anticipation of further extending the regional rapprochement.
Relations improved after President Hosni Mubarak resigned in 2011. In 2012 Egypt's then-President Mohamed Morsi visited Tehran to attend the Non-Aligned Movement summit. However, he was ousted in a military coup led by current Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi just a year later.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Egypt in October. Sharing a photo of himself at Cairo's famous Abu Tarek restaurant, he lamented the absence of a similar Egyptian restaurant in Tehran.
Since last year, Egypt has permitted direct flights from Tehran.
The last time an Iranian president visited Cairo was in 2013 when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended an OIC summit during Mohamed Morsi's presidency.
Last year, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei greenlit the resumption of relations, saying, "there are no obstacles to this."
This riposte by Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei came after the UNGA adopted the resolution which criticized the Islamic Republics treatment of prisoners, ethnic and religious minorities and women.
“The proponents of the anti-Iran resolution, including the Zionist regime, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, are major violators of human rights," Baghaei said. "This is a source of shame, and the Canadian officials who initiate such actions against our country every year are urged to focus on reforming their actions both inside and outside their country instead of accusing others.”
The resolution, which passed with 80 votes in favor and 27 against, criticized the Iranian government’s unlawful use of the death penalty, arbitrary arrests, torture and its persistent suppression of peaceful protests.
It also condemned the Islamic Republic for discrimination against women, ethnic and religious minorities and minors.
Human rights advocates have expressed concern over these abuses and called Tehran’s actions a tool of political repression.
The UNGA called for an immediate halt to executions, many of which are carried out based on forced confessions extracted under torture and without the benefit of fair trials.
In particular, the resolution singles out the government’s pattern of executing political prisoners as evidence of its commitment to silencing dissent.
This marks a continuation of the crackdown on political opposition which has seen approximately 625 executions since the inauguration of Iran’s current president Masoud Pezeshkian in late July, including 22 women.
The resolution also underscored the Iranian government’s ongoing violations of women’s rights, pointing to restrictive laws that discriminate against females.
"(The UNGA) strongly urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of systemic discrimination and violence against women and girls, in public and private life," the resolution read.
"(It) urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to cease the widespread and systematic use of arbitrary arrests and detention ... (and) calls upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to release women human rights defenders imprisoned for exercising their rights."
The resolution further called for the suspension of all death sentences in Iran.
Baghaei defended his government’s actions and labeled the international accusations “baseless and politically motivated.”