Saudi Arabia, UAE, to push Egypt toward a confrontation with Iran

Tabnak – Despite being a supporter of Saudi Arabia’s general approaches toward regional crises, Egypt has made it clear that it’s not going to endanger its own national interests by marching toward a confrontation with Iran. As the tensions between Riyadh and Tehran are in the rise, the Saudis are doubling down on their efforts to push Cairo toward their anti-Iran orbit.

In this vein, it is reported that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have stepped up pressure on Egypt to make the North African country take an overtly hostile position against Iran.

Citing some sources close to the Egyptian presidency, the New Arab or al-Araby al-Jadeed, a London-based Pan-Arab media outlet, reported on Saturday that the pressure has mounted following recent “sabotage attacks” on four oil tankers off the coast of Fujairah.

The report said while Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are pressuring Arab states to take a more aggressive stance on Iran, Cairo has refused to fall in line.

A diplomatic source said Egypt values its diplomatic ties with Iran, though at the lowest level, but the Persian Gulf Arab countries are seeking to drag Cairo into a battle with Tehran.

An Egyptian diplomatic source said Saudi Arabia and the UAE are offering Egypt economic and oil incentives as well as direct investment to lure the country into sending forces to the two Middle Eastern states as a warning to Iran.

"Saudi Arabia offered to extend the period of free oil supplies provided by Aramco, estimated at $750 million per month ... and the non-recovery of Saudi dollar deposits in the Central Bank of Egypt ... and the UAE deposits [which make] about $15 billion of the total Egyptian cash reserves," the report said.

Madawi al-Rasheed, a visiting professor at the Middle East Institute of the London School of Economics, predicted that even with the help of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will fail in a possible confrontation with Iran.

"Together with its other Arab allies, like Egypt, Saudi Arabia will fail in any direct military confrontation with Iran, despite the latter’s loss of appetite for major confrontation at a time when its economy is struggling to stand on its feet under US sanctions," she wrote.

"Neither the UAE nor Saudi Arabia will expect victory in a quick US-led war on Iran. In fact, they better rule out the prospect of war and begin a serious rethinking of their relations with Iran," she added.

Writing on the website of the Middle East Eye news portal, Rasheed further stressed that the prospect of Egypt or any other Arab ally being drawn into a war in the Persian Gulf is "certainly unrealistic."

It should be noted that in April, Egypt pulled out of the US effort to forge an “Arab NATO” with key Arab allies, in a blow to the Trump administration’s strategy to contain Iranian power.

Egypt withdrew because it doubted the seriousness of the initiative, had yet to see a formal blueprint laying it out, and because of the danger that the plan would increase tensions with Iran, according to a Reuters report.