Egypt, Iran discuss Gaza war, bilateral relations

CAIRO

The foreign ministers of Egypt and Iran held talks on Sunday to discuss ways of ending Israel’s deadly war on the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.

Sameh Shoukry received a phone call from his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during which they also discussed the ongoing tension in the Red Sea and bilateral relations between the two countries, the ministry added in a statement.

The two ministers agreed on the “utmost priority” of reaching a cease-fire in Gaza and ensuring full access to humanitarian aid to the enclave, the statement said.

They also reiterated their rejection of the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and any Israeli ground attack on Rafah, where more than 1.4 million people have taken refuge from the Israeli war, on the southern tip of the Gaza Strip.

Nearly 32,800 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the enclave, which left most of the population, particularly residents of the north, on the verge of starvation.

The chief diplomats also discussed “the path of Egyptian-Iranian relations" following their meeting in the Swiss city of Geneva in February, according to the statement.

Diplomatic relations between Egypt and Iran were severed in 1980 following the Iranian Islamic Revolution and the asylum granted to the deposed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Cairo.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala