CAIRO, Egypt — Leaked U.S. diplomatic cables reveal that Egypt’s president would consider turning his country into a nuclear power if Iran acquired atomic weapons.
A cable from May 2008, one of thousands of secret diplomatic documents released by the WikiLeaks website, describes how President Hosni Mubarak told a U.S. Congressional delegation that everyone in the region was “terrified” of a nuclear Iran.
Mubarak also cautioned the U.S. against prematurely withdrawing from Iraq as that would live “Iran in control” and he recommended installing a military dictator in Baghdad.
The cables reveal the extent to which Egypt fears Iranian influence in the region and in an April 2009 discussion with the chairman top U.S. military official, Egypt’s intelligence head said Iran was attempting to work inside Egypt.