Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is expected to raise the issue of attacks on Red Sea shipping by Houthi forces backed by Tehran when he meets Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Cairo this week, sources have told The National.
The attacks, launched in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, have cut by half Egypt's revenue from the Suez Canal, which links the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Egypt is already gripped by an economic crisis and foreign currency shortages.
Also high on the agenda will be other upheavals in the Middle East, including the war in Gaza, where the Iranian-backed Hamas has fought Israel since October 2023. Lebanon will also be up for discussion, where another Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, lost a significant portion of its assets in its war with Israel.
The two leaders will also review the situation in Syria, where the regime of president Bashar Al Assad, which had for years been propped up by Iran and Russia against armed opposition, collapsed this month.
The sources said Egypt has been urging Iran to persuade the Houthis to halt their attacks on shipping but to no avail. Cairo has also been seeking guarantees that the Houthis will not make good on threats to close Bab Al Mandeb, the narrow strait at the southern mouth of the Red Sea.
Egypt and Iran have in recent years held several rounds of consultations to normalise their relations after decades of tension following the 1979 overthrow of the Shah in the Islamic revolution. However, they are yet to upgrade their diplomatic representation to ambassadorial level, reflecting lingering differences.
Cairo has repeatedly called on Iran to stay out of the affairs of Arab nations and stop arming and bankrolling non-state players across the Middle East. Now, Iran's proxies have been considerably weakened, except for the Houthis in Yemen and armed Shiite groups in Iraq.
While in Egypt, Mr Pezeshkian will participate in a summit of the D-8 Organisation for Economic Co-operation, which groups his country together with Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Malaysia and Bangladesh.
His visit will be the first by an Iranian president since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in February 2013 made a historic trip to Egypt, which was then ruled by Mohammed Morsi.
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German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe.
"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.
Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.
"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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MORE ON THE US DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES
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The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
