In a historic and symbolic move on Tuesday Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Egypt. Ahmadinejad’s visit marks the first official trip by an Iranian head of state to Egypt since Iran’s 1979 revolution. 

Egyptian president and Muslim Brotherhood politician Mohamed Morsi greeted Ahmadinejad as he disembarked from the airplane. 

Ahmadinejad is set to attend an Islamic summit on Wednesday and meet with the grand sheikh of al-Azhar, who is considered to be the highest authority in Sunni Islamic thought and Islamic jurisprudence later on Tuesday. 

During his trip to Egypt, Ahmadinejad also hopes to visit the Gaza Strip, an area of the Palestinian territory run by the Islamist movement Hamas. 

Under ex-Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who upheld Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel for his 30 years in power Ahandinjad’s visit would be almost unthinkable. 

"The political geography of the region will change if Iran and Egypt take a unified position on the Palestinian question," Reuter’s reported that Ahmadinejad said in an interview with Al Mayadeen, a Beirut-based TV station.

 

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