Charges of compliance

To some, however, Morsi appeared to be playing into U.S. hands even more than the old government regarding Iran.

"Obama wants a Sunni alliance in the Middle East, in Arab Spring countries, to besiege Iran," said political sociologist Said Sadek. So in this sense, the Muslim Brotherhood will not have a foreign policy that would not be different from the [Sunni] Gulf States."

Even credit for the Gaza truce, argued political analyst Hisham Kassem, is less a triumph for Morsi than it is for the U.S. and its allies in Egypt's traditional sources of power, which show no appetite for conflict with Israel.

"This is a situation where Morsi has no other option because the real players here are the Egyptian intelligence and the military," said Kassem.

The perception of Morsi being used by the U.S. has spilled over into protests at home.

Sadek said it all combines to make any foreign initiatives by the president more difficult. "Egypt needs to build the inside before they do outside."

The analysts say the domestic front likely will keep Morsi very busy in the coming months.