Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has discussed rising tensions in the region with Egyptian officials in Cairo during the first such visit by a top Iranian official to the North African nation in around a decade.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Egypt on Thursday as part of a Middle East tour to persuade regional US allies to put pressure on Washington to limit the scope of Israel's possible retaliatory attack.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi landed in Cairo late on Wednesday for talks with Egyptian officials, the first such visit in years as part of a Middle Eastern tour amid concerns of a wider confrontation in the region with Israel.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi named Major General Hassan Mahmoud Rashad as head of the powerful general intelligence agency on Wednesday, appointing the outgoing chief Abbas Kamel as an adviser to the presidency.