Iran's deputy minister of foreign affairs said Wednesday during a meeting with an Egyptian popular diplomacy delegation currently visiting Tehran that his country's foreign policy was based on the presence of Egypt within the "regional equation."

"There are huge powers who don't want to see a strong Egypt and work on weakening it. At this point Egypt should restore its leading position in the Arab world and face such foreign ambitions through cooperation with other countries in the region," Egypt's state-run news agency MENA quoted Hadi Soleimanpour as saying.

Soleimanpour called for setting aside issues of disagreement and taking advantage of areas in which both countries can build a "strategy for Mideastern collaboration."

He noted that Tehran is "following with interest" the political developments in Egypt since the 25 January 2011 and 30 June 2013 revolutions, stating respect for the people's will and praising the role of the Egyptian military in guaranteeing internal stability.

For his part, Egyptian Ambassador to Iran Khaled Emara expressed optimism about opportunities for enhancing Egyptian-Iranian relations in the coming period, regardless of current challenges threatening security in the Middle East.

"Egypt and Iran have developed a common ground on regional issues and Egyptian politics in particular. Restructuring ties is very important at such a point of time," Emara said.

Salah Eddin Dissouki, head of the Egyptian delegation, said that the aim of the visit was to strengthen diplomatic ties between the two countries and inform the Iranian side on the situation in Egypt after two revolutions, including the post-30 June roadmap and the referendum on the new constitution expected next month.

The delegation headed to the Iranian capital Tuesday.

Initiated by the Cairo-based Arab Union to Support Resistance and in coordination with the National Association for Change, the delegation includes around 40 prominent figures from the fields of politics, media and revolutionary youth movements, MENA reported.

The delegation aims to coordinate efforts between Egypt and Iran to confront the dangers facing both countries, said Gamal Zahran, a political science professor who will travel with the pan-Arab group.

 "The delegation will stress the need for dialogue and good ties between Iran and Gulf states in the face of American and Zionist conspiracies to dominate the region," Zahran said.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended its support for diplomatic efforts to strengthen Egypt's relations with the world, said the ministry's spokesperson Badr Abdel-Aty.

The ministry added that such efforts reflect the will of Egyptians following 30 June.

Diplomatic ties between Egypt and Iran were cut in 1980, a year after Iran's Islamic revolution and Egypt's peace treaty with Israel.

Last February, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Egypt during ousted president Mohamed Morsi's rule — the first visit of an Iranian leader to Cairo in over 30 years.

Egypt and Iran currently host respective diplomatic missions — slightly above interest sections and less than full-fledged embassies.