Egypt - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent since 2012

Egypt cover image

Egypt

March 20, 2026

Cairo 8:06 pm

19°C

Smoke and flames rise at the site of airstrikes on an oil depot in Tehran on March 7, 2026.

Analysis

Oil crisis stokes inflation risks for Mideast as Iran war exposes importers

With crude oil briefly nearing $120 per barrel on Monday before giving up gains, the conflict is poised to reignite inflationary pressures around the world, including for vulnerable economies such as Egypt and Turkey.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Qatar gas shock roils Middle East energy risk profile amid Iran war

The disruption to energy transportation through the Strait of Hormuz predictably threatens crude prices, but it's natural gas supplies that are shocking the markets.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP via Getty Images

US-Iran war rattles global stocks as UAE trading set to resume

This handout picture released by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on February 23, 2026, shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) welcoming Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (L) upon his arrival for an official visit at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. (Photo by Ahmed NURELDINE / SPA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

UAE-Saudi fracture to test Egypt’s security-economy tradeoff

Cairo has been signaling alignment with Riyadh amid a major rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE — a fracture that also threatens to jolt Egypt’s ties with its single most important foreign investor.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Analysis

Egyptians in for another expensive Ramadan despite recovering economy

An Egyptian vendor fills dates for a customer at a market in Cairo's central Sayyida Zeinab district on Feb. 12, 2026, as Muslims prepare for the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which begins early next week.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Culture

Harassment on Cairo bus revives debate over women’s rights in Egypt

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

MBZ hosts Sisi as Saudi Arabia and UAE jockey for regional influence

President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed welcomes Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 9, 2026.

Arms production to air defense: Inside $350M Egypt-Turkey military pact

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stand with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo, Feb. 4, 2026.

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

In London, reporting on North Africa and Gulf politics

Mohammed Magdy

In Berlin, reporting on Egyptian politics

Ayah Aman

In Cairo, reporting on politics and culture

Salwa Samir

In Giza, reporting on politics

Nada Shaker

In Cairo, reporting on culture

Police stand guard outside the Iranian ambassador's house during a protest against Iran in Cairo April 5, 2013. Ultra-Conservative Islamist Salafists brought down the Iranian flag at the house of the Iranian ambassador in Egypt Mojtaba Amani on Friday, and replaced it with the Syrian revolutionary flag. Seen at the top of the fence is the Syrian revolutionary flag. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXY9NK

Iran on Egypt’s Crisis: Political Islam in Danger

Iran fears that civil war could break out in Egypt, and worries about the dangers that could pose for the region.

Police officers guard a gate to al-Fath mosque, where demonstrators in support of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi wait inside, at Ramses Square in Cairo August 17, 2013. Gunmen and members of the Egyptian security forces exchanged fire on Saturday in a Cairo square where dozens of supporters of deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi were shot dead the day before, Reuters journalists said. Footage broadcast by the privately-owned CBC station appeared to show someone firing from the minaret of the

Egypt's Paradox

Egyptians are grappling with unprecedented violence rooted in a divide over the military-led government.

Destroyed Egyptian armour lines the sides of a Sinai road after it was hit by Israeli jet fighters during the 1967 Six Day War. [In six days Israel took control of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Sinai and the Golan Heights as well as "unifying" Jerusalem by capturing East Jerusalem and the Old City, thus increasing Israel's land mass dramatically. It also became burdened with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians along with the land it captured.] Israel celebrates its 50th Golden Jubilee anniversary on Apr

Peace Is Israel's Best Security Guarantee

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should look back to the peace agreement with Egypt, which proves that compromise strengthens Israel's borders and guarantees its security.

A funeral convoy carrying the bodies of four Islamist militants, drives through Sheikh Zuweid, in the north of the Sinai peninsula August 10, 2013. The four Islamist militants were killed by an air strike that their comrades said had been done by an Israeli drone but which state media said was the work of an Egyptian army helicopter. REUTERS/ Stringer (EGYPT - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX12G55

Will the US Join Egyptian Coalition Bandwagon?

Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s struggle against the Muslim Brotherhood has given rise to a rare coalition: the new transitional Egyptian leadership, the Arab world and Israel.

Palestinian members of security forces loyal to Hamas stand guard on the border between Egypt and southern Gaza Strip July 5, 2013. Egyptian security forces closed the Rafah border crossing and state media said it would reopen on Saturday. Security sources said Islamist gunmen opened fire on El-Arish airport, close to the border with the Gaza Strip and Israel and at three military checkpoints. A police station in Rafah on the Gaza border was hit by rockets, wounding several soldiers. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu M

Has Hamas Abandoned Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood?

The Hamas leadership would find it hard to explain abandoning their "mother movement" — the Muslim Brotherhood — to its fate, without even a vocal protest.

Palestinians take part in a rally in support of Egypt's deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and in protest of the recent violence in Egypt, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip August 17, 2013. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX12P94

Palestinians in Gaza Hold Vigils For Slain Egyptians

No one is watching the events unfold in Egypt as closely as Palestinians in Gaza, whose future is tied to the crisis that its larger neighbor is going through.

A protester supporting ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi carries an injured demonstrator (R) during clashes outside Azbkya police station at Ramses Square in Cairo, August 16, 2013. About 50 people were killed in protests in Cairo on Friday, security officials said. Thousands of supporters of deposed President Mohamed Mursi have been staging nationwide protests against a security crackdown on Islamists. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX12NQA

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Final Card?

Al-Monitor’s coverage of the bloodshed in Egypt.

Soldiers stand guard on an armoured personnel carrier positioned outside Ramses Square, near al-Fath mosque in Cairo August 17, 2013. Egyptian authorities rounded up more than 1,000 Islamists as the Muslim Brotherhood leadership defiantly called a week of nationwide protests starting on Saturday after a day of carnage. After Friday's bloodshed in which more than 100 people died in clashes that pushed Egypt ever closer to anarchy, tensions were high with supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi

The Aftermath of 72 Tumultuous Hours in Cairo

Egypt’s January 2011 revolution is beyond restoration.

A supporter of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi holds a poster of him during a protest along Zahara street in Cairo August 18, 2013. Egypt's army-backed rulers met on Sunday to discuss their bloody confrontation with deposed President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood amid contrasting proposals for compromise and a fight to the death. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX12Q2U

The Inevitable Has Happened In Egypt

With the latest developments in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood's gradual progression toward power is coming to a halt.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he addresses the media before leaving for Turkmenistan at Esenboga Airport in Ankara August 15, 2013. Erdogan called on Thursday for the U.N. Security Council to convene quickly and act after what he described as a massacre in Egypt, during a news conference in Ankara. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12M4D

Erdogan’s Self-Righteous Blast on Egypt

The Turkish prime minister’s remarks on Egypt are geared toward Turkish domestic politics.

Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi carry an injured demonstrator who was shot during clashes in front Azbkya police station at Ramses Square in Cairo August 16, 2013. Muslim Brotherhood protests plunged into violence across Egypt on Friday, with around 50 killed in Cairo alone on a "Day of Rage" called by Islamist followers of ousted President Mohamed Mursi to denounce a police crackdown. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX12NX1

Bloodshed in Egypt Requires US Response

The Americans must realize that chaos in Egypt threatens the security of the entire region.

Israeli police officers stand guard atop a wall overlooking Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City, during the holy month of Ramadan July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION CRIME LAW) - RTX11ZWT

Israel, West Bank Quiet For Now Amid Region in Flames

Israel is surrounding itself with more fences and tightening security measures in anticipation of more violence on its borders as regional unrest continues.