THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran's hopes of using the Arab Spring to secure regional domination were boosted on Monday as it took a vital step towards strengthening relations with Egypt.
Ali Akbar Salehi, the Iranian foreign minister, announced that one of his deputies would visit Cairo "in the near future" and said that he would hold talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Nabil al-Arabi, in the Indonesian resort of Bali at the end of the month.
It comes as the two states prepare for the full-scale resumption of diplomatic relations in more than 30 years, a development that some observers believe could tilt [the] balance of power in the Middle East in Iran's favour.
Mr Salehi boasted of a flurry of communications between the two capitals as they work towards an exchange of ambassadors, a breakthrough that has alarmed Israel, dismayed Saudi Arabia, Iran's long-standing rival for influence in the Arab world, and caused unease in Washington.
"Currently, many oral and written messages and phone calls are being exchanged between officials of the two sides," Mr Salehi said.
Under Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president ousted in a popular revolution three months ago, relations with Iran were deeply antagonistic. » | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Monday, May 09, 2011
