On May 29, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he would “welcome” the restoration of full diplomatic ties with Egypt. This statement, however, was barely reported on despite being a watershed moment in an emerging alliance that will soon affect the entire world.

For the past several months, Iranian-Egyptian relations have been inching toward improvement. This is following a long history of bad blood.

Decades of Tension

In 1979, the Islamic revolution began in Iran, marking the start of a tense relationship with Egypt. Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi had led Iran for over 30 years and was an ally of the West. Ruhollah Khomeini emerged as the radical “hero” for whom the nation longed. He garnered public support, not just from his own nation, but from a deceived West. In a New York Times piece published on Feb. 16, 1979, Princeton University Prof. Richard Falk referred to Khomeini as a possible pioneer of a new “model of humane government.”

Just one month later, Khomeini said: “Don’t listen to those who speak of democracy. They all are against Islam. They want to take the nation away from its mission. We will break all the poison pens of those who speak of nationalism, democracy and such things.”

The shah’s ousting that year by Khomeini’s takeover began a deep rift between Iran and Egypt. Under the new form of government, Iran skidded into a radicalism Egypt opposed. When the shah fled, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat welcomed him, showing where Egypt stood.

In 1981, whatever ties remained were officially severed when Sadat was assassinated by Islamic terrorists. It is widely believed that Iran was behind the attack.

Egypt’s next president, Hosni Mubarak, followed the ideals of his predecessor by restraining radical Islam in Egypt over the course of his 30-year rule.

Turning Tides

In 2011, the Arab Spring protests led to the resignation of Mubarak. Once again, the United States stood with the protesters. The Obama administration urged Mubarak to yield to the people. The West argued that the Egyptian people wanted democracy and that Mubarak was blocking that. A Pew Research Center Poll conducted at the time revealed the opposite: Ninety-five percent of Egyptians said they preferred for religion to play a “large role in politics”; eighty-four percent were in favor of the death penalty for those who leave the Muslim faith. Over half believed suicide bombings against civilians were justifiable. Almost half supported the terrorist group Hamas.

America assumed Egyptians wanted a Western-style democracy. In reality, the uprising against Mubarak came from a desire for Islamic theocracy.

After Mubarak was ousted, the Muslim Brotherhood was legalized in Egypt, after 63 years of being banned. Mohamed Morsi came to power and said in his election speech, “The Koran is our constitution, the prophet is our leader, jihad is our path, and death in the name of allah is our goal.”

An Islamic terrorist organization infiltrating Egyptian politics laid the groundwork for what we see today: an emerging alliance between Iran and Egypt. This is a trend that the Trumpet has been warning about for decades.

Israel at the Center

On Sept. 17, 1978, President Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords. It was the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab nation.

The negotiations, brokered by the U.S. led to Sadat and Begin being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The deal was supposed to be the “framework for peace in the Middle East.” Does Egypt still view it that way?

A poll commissioned by the Washington Institute from July to August 2022 shows that it doesn’t. According to the institute, “Only 14 percent of the Egyptians polled view the peace agreements as positive, while 82 percent see them as at least ‘somewhat’ negative. Egyptian attitudes toward peace with Israel show that the public is not in line with the policies of its own government on this question.”

Four decades on from the Camp David Accords, Egyptians no longer view Israel as an ally. Why does that matter? Stratfor geopolitical forecaster George Friedman wrote, “The single most important neighbor Israel has is Egypt.”

Historically, Israel’s national security has depended on its geographical neighbors at its most vulnerable borders: the southern Levant and eastern Mediterranean. Israel’s peaceful terms with Egypt are the backbone of its national security. If Egypt were to turn against Israel, it would spell disaster for the Jewish people.

Enter Iran.

Iran hates Israel. Allying with Egypt would give Iran a literal border with Israel. And not just any border—Israel’s historically most vulnerable border.

Iran doesn’t pursue physical resources or power for the same reasons as other countries. Iran’s main view is ideological: the belief that sharia law is the solution to mankind’s problems and that they need to export that to the world.

Iran will stop at nothing to take Jerusalem. Gaining a foothold in Egypt would give it the backdoor it needs.

Emergence of Peace Talks

Stronger ties between Egypt and Iran have been in the works for the last several years. But never in recent history has this forecast alliance been closer to emerging than this year.

On March 10, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to resume ties with China acting as a mediator. This helped open talks for Iran to do the same with Egypt. Two weeks later, on March 27, Egypt reciprocated the advances toward diplomacy by allowing Iranians to obtain tourist visas.

Iranian lawmaker Fada-Hossein Meleki expressed the importance of reestablishing ties in an interview with Tasnim news agency last month: “Restoring relations between Iran and Egypt is very important. … In the near future, bilateral relations will be restored, and we will witness the opening of embassies in both countries.”

Last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told Islamic Republic News Agency: “We have always welcomed the improvement of relations between Tehran and Cairo.” The past 40 years have not indicated that such relations have “always” been a priority. However, it is what we’ve been saying at the Trumpet long before any dialogue of diplomacy was in sight.

An Accurate Forecast

In July 1993, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote: “Islamic extremism is gaining power at a frightening pace in Egypt. … [Y]ou are about to see a radical change in Egyptian politics!”

The source for Mr. Flurry’s warning was Bible prophecy. Time has proved those prophecies to be true.

Bible prophecy reveals an end-time alliance in the Middle East led by Iran (Daniel 11:40). This “king of the south” alliance will include Egypt (verse 42).

The Trumpet has been saying for decades that radical Islam would take control of Egypt and that Iran and Egypt would become allies, even when tensions were at their highest. How could we know? Bible prophecy. The current strengthening relationship between Iran and Egypt reveals the authority and accuracy of the Bible.

Mr. Flurry identified Iran as the king of the south in the early 1990s. Iran and Egypt pursuing diplomatic ties is fulfilling that prophecy!

Keep watching the Middle East to see how accurate the Bible is in what it says will unfold in the end time. To fully prove what role Iran and its allies play in Bible prophecy, request a free copy of The King of the South, by Gerald Flurry.