Iran and Egypt suddenly reconciled, Israel called out China for help, and the Foreign Ministry's response was meaningful. Why did Iran and Egypt suddenly reach a rapprochement? What kind of request did Israel make to China? and how did the Ministry of Foreign Affairs respond?
The prolongation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has brought tremendous changes to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East.
On December 26, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Kanaani said at a press conference that through dialogue and exchanges, Iran and Egypt are on a good path to opening a new chapter in constructive relations.
Kanaani revealed that the two sides are currently holding consultations on relevant issues, and Iran believes that it is expected to restore diplomatic relations with Egypt, which will benefit not only the two countries and two peoples, but also the entire region and the Islamic world.
The rapprochement between Iran and Egypt is a bit abrupt because the progress between the two countries from the resumption of negotiations to the conclusion of a rapprochement is indeed too fast, and it has only been a little more than a month since Iranian President Raisi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met during the joint extraordinary summit of Arab-Islamic leaders in November this year, and the two sides discussed issues such as advancing relations between the two countries.
On December 23, the two presidents spoke on the phone again, and in just three days, the two sides quickly reached a consensus on the normalization of diplomatic relations.
Why, then, were Iran and Egypt able to rapprochement in such a short period of time?
First, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has played a direct role in giving impetus to this.
We have noticed that the two exchanges between the presidents of Iran and Egypt took place during the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which also shows that both sides recognize the urgency of the Palestinian-Israeli issue.
Moreover, since the outbreak of the current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Egypt's Rafah port has been playing an important role in sending humanitarian supplies to Gaza, and Egypt's efforts have been seen by everyone, so to a certain extent, Egypt has also used practical actions to obtain Iran's "forgiveness".
Second, Iran's strategic shift is also the main reason for the reconciliation between the two countries.
In 1979, after the Islamic Revolution, Iran immediately chose to sever diplomatic relations with Egypt, and there are many reasons behind this.
On the one hand, because of the disagreement of religious ideas, Egypt is an advocate of pan-Arabism and advocates the revival of the Middle East Muslim world with Arabia, while Iran advocates the integration of Islam and religion to revive the Muslim world, so there is a contradiction between the two ideas, and Egypt actively promotes secularization, and even cracks down on the clergy, which makes the Iranian side very dissatisfied.
On the other hand, Egypt later took the initiative to reconcile with Israel and establish diplomatic relations, which made Iran very ashamed, and once considered Egypt a traitor to the Islamic world, pushing the Palestinians into the fire pit.
Of course, now that Iran's strategy has changed, especially under the mediation of China, Iran has reached a rapprochement with Saudi Arabia, which also indicates that Islam and the Arab world are gradually abandoning differences in religious ideas and working together based on common political goals.
Today, the Arab-Islamic world has reached an unprecedented level of unity, which is bound to put tremendous pressure on Israel.
Previously, Israel had also offered to negotiate with Hamas, offering a seven-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of some 40 detainees, a proposal rejected by Hamas.
Hamas's statement made clear its resoluteness: "They will not accept any exchange agreement unless Israel completely ceases its aggression." ”
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that Israel will not stop its military operations in Gaza, and has threatened to completely eradicate Hamas's armed forces.
At the same time, Netanyahu began to look for other ways to save those held by Hamas, one of which was China.
On December 25, Netanyahu suddenly mentioned in his latest speech that Israel was doing everything it could to free the hostages, including through contacts with representatives of all major powers, and then Netanyahu mentioned a Chinese-Israeli girl named Noa.
Netanyahu said he had recently met with the Chinese ambassador to Israel and asked for help in rescuing the girl, and hoped that the request could be conveyed directly to the highest levels of the Chinese side.
However, we noticed that while Netanyahu was talking about Israel's efforts to save the hostages, many of the hostage's families were booing, and it was clear that they were not satisfied with the Israeli government's work.
On the one hand, the IDF's previous crime of manslaughtering three hostages in Gaza is still fresh in my mind, and since then, protests have erupted in Israel, especially the hostages' families, who have expressed the hope that the Israeli government can reach a quid pro quo agreement with Hamas, but it was Netanyahu's refusal to abandon the military operation that led to the breakdown of negotiations.
On the other hand, the diplomatic efforts mentioned by Netanyahu do not actually have much practical significance, but are suspected of diverting the focus.
Taking Noa as an example, I believe that viewers who follow this incident have the impression that this Chinese-Israeli mixed-race girl also made domestic news headlines for a period of time after the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and her mother Li Chunhong had also turned to China for help.
Although China's response was very positive, Noa is an Israeli nationality after all, and even Li Chunhong has already renounced her Chinese nationality, so China has no reason to put pressure on the relevant party because of a foreign citizen, which is also not in line with international practice.
And Li Chunhong's personal resume has also caused some controversy. According to the data, Li Chunhong was originally a student from Israel sent by the Chinese government in the 90s, but Li Chunhong disappeared after completing her studies, and when she reappeared, she had become an Israeli citizen, so there was a lot of controversy on the domestic Internet about Li Chunhong's request.
Now, in the face of Netanyahu's request, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning's response is meaningful, and Mao Ning's response is mainly divided into two parts.
First, since the outbreak of the current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, China has been calling for the release of all detainees as soon as possible, and has made positive efforts to this end.
Secondly, China is ready to work with the international community to continue to play a constructive role in promoting a ceasefire and ending the fighting and releasing all detainees.
The implication is that China has done its utmost to rescue the detainees, and the key to why the detainees are not able to return home is that the two sides have not been able to cease the fire, and the initiative to cease the war is now in Israel's hands.