Things between Sunni Egypt allied to both the US and Israel and Shia Iran, hostile to Israel and the US, haven’t been good. But there’s been a thawing in the post Mubarak world. Iranian naval ships have been allowed through the Suez canal, and now Egypt’s foreign minister has said he wants to have a fresh start with Iran. Tehran has responded positively. Egypt and Iran (along with Turkey) are the mega players in the Middle East. Their drawing closer together will most certainly impact people, including Christians. It could be good, it could be bad. The sheer size of the church in Egypt means that Christianity cannot be ignored, and talk of being able to ‘stamp out Christianity’ in Cairo or Alexandria would only be indulged in by fantasists. They would not be taken seriously by responsible people. If this influence came to Tehran, where there are clearly people with an agenda of ‘religious cleansing’ against Christians, this would be good. But it could be bad, if politicians in Egypt start to imitate Iran’s approach to whip up support among conservatives. Pray for Iran to be influenced by the old historic church in Egypt The lran Egypt relationship to be a force for stability Iranian and Egyptian Christians to draw closer together