Iran’s intelligence chief arrived in Cairo in late December 2012 to meet with Egypt’s political and intelligence leadership, Arab diplomatic sources said. They said Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, discussed cooperation as well as terms for a reconciliation between the two regional powers.“The Iranians have offered intelligence and security assistance to the new government of President [Mohammed] Morsi,” a source said.The sources said this marked a major development in the attempt to reconcile Cairo and Teheran in wake of Morsi’s election in June 2012. They said Iran was offering a range of incentives, including energy exports as well as intelligence and military cooperation.On Jan. 9, the Western daily, the Australian, reported that Suleimani was advising the Morsi regime on how to establish intelligence agencies independent of Egypt’s powerful military. The newspaper said Morsi has been frustrated with the refusal of the military-controlled agencies to cooperate with the new Muslim Brotherhood regime.“[They] have refused to share information with the government or allow the Brotherhood access to their surveillance apparatus,” the Australian, quoting Egyptian sources, said.Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has arrived in Cairo for meetings with the Egyptian leadership. Salehi’s arrival came in wake of Morsi’s visit to Teheran in August 2012, the first by an Egyptian president since 1979.The sources said Morsi sought Iranian guarantees that it would not intervene in Egypt, which has reported a Hizbullah operational presence.They said Cairo was also under pressure from Gulf Cooperation Council states, particularly Saudi Arabia, not to form an alliance with Teheran.“Morsi very much wants to form a foreign policy independent of the United States,” an Egyptian source said. “But these days Egypt needs the billions of dollars promised by GCC states, particularly Qatar and Saudi Arabia.”