Iran will cancel visa requirements for Egyptian merchants and tourists seeking to enter the country, according to statements made last week to Egyptian state news by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi. The move will be read against the backdrop of Iranian efforts to create what Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dubbed a “strategic axis” between Egypt and Iran. Egypt’s potential realignment away from the West and toward Tehran is likely to reemerge in coming days and weeks in the midst of high-profile visits by U.S. officials, including President Barack Obama, to the region.