Egypt - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Egypt cover image

Egypt

May 15, 2026

Cairo 12:26 am

26°C

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly speaks in Beirut on Dec. 19, 2025.

Egypt ramps up energy investments amid war-driven price pressures

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Wednesday that Egypt has secured commitments exceeding $19 billion from international oil companies over the next three years.

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted the third meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on the margins of the 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum, on April 17, 2026.

Analysis

Why Saudi Arabia, Egypt are wary of Turkey’s proposed 4-way defense pact with Pakistan

The proposed framework faces major hurdles and fault lines, ranging from NATO constraints to Israeli opposition and weak military integration.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

A man walks through the atrium during the 2026 IMF and World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

IMF slashes Mideast outlook by nearly 3 points as Iran war hits economies

The International Monetary Fund cut gross domestic product forecasts for the Middle East and North Africa, with the fallout from the conflict exposing stark divergences between the region’s energy exporters and importers.

Latest News

Analysis

Egypt eyes energy breakthroughs as Iran war deepens gas crunch

Sayed Hassan/Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

Hostage to Hormuz, can Gulf rewire future energy flows to bypass Iran’s chokepoint?

A police speed boat patrols the port as oil tankers and high speed crafts sit anchored at Muscat Anchorage near the Strait of Hormuz on March 30, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Israel energy minister says gas flowing to Egypt, Jordan despite shutdown reports

A view of the platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea is pictured from the Israeli northern coastal beach of Nasholim, on Aug. 29, 2022.

Egypt closes stores early, Jordan bans AC as Iran war takes toll

Shops close early, on March 28, 2026, in Cairo, Egypt.

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

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi pray in front of a poster during a funeral for two people killed in recent clashes at Rabaa Adawiya Square, where they are camping in Nasr city area, east of Cairo August 1, 2013. Egypt's army-backed government on Thursday urged supporters of deposed president Mohamed Mursi to abandon their Cairo protest camps, promising them a safe exit if they gave up without a fight. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: PO

Israel, US Navigate Slow Trend To Arab Democracy

The US and Israel continue to be surprised by events in Egypt and Syria.

A supporter of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan stands in front of a police fence as she waits for his arrival at Istanbul's Ataturk airport early June 7, 2013. Erdogan told thousands of cheering supporters on Friday his authority came from the ballot box and urged them not to be drawn into violence, in a show of ruling party strength after a week of fierce anti-government protests. Addressing crowds at Istanbul airport from an open-top bus after returning from a trip to North Africa, Erdogan called on

Turkey’s Twitter 'Fenos' Work to Marginalize Critics

Women journalists, in particular, face the wrath of pro-AKP pundits.

Religious scholars and supporters of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi take part in an anti-army rally that started from their sit-in area around Raba' al-Adawya mosque, east of Cairo, July 30, 2013. Europe's top diplomat, Catherine Ashton, shuttled between Egypt's rulers and the Muslim Brotherhood on Monday in a mission to pull the country back from more bloodshed, but both sides were unyielding after 80 Islamist supporters were gunned down. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

Egypt: Competing for Corpses

The Muslim Brotherhood seems to be willing to sacrifice any number of its supporters to regain the upper hand in Egypt’s standoff.

Supporters of Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak shout slogans against members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi near a poster of Egypt's armed forces chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, outside a police academy before Mubarak's trial in Cairo July 6, 2013. The slow-motion retrial of former Egyptian autocrat Hosni Mubarak dragged on at snail's pace on Saturday, impervious to the latest upheaval in the country he ruled for 30 years - the military overthro

Pro-Sisi Egyptians Struck by Amnesia

Millions are embracing Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and have seemingly forgotten the ills of military rule that plagued Egypt for decades.

U.S. President Barack Obama sits next to Qatar Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thaniat (not pictured) as he speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, April 23, 2013. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXYXDL

Back to the Future for US Policy In Egypt and Syria

The Obama administration gives priority to containing Islamic extremism, not promoting democracy, in the Middle East.

A girl walks past graffiti on a wall near Tahrir square in Cairo July 21, 2013. Egyptian rappers and graffiti artists who captured the spirit of the youthful rebellion that toppled president Hosni Mubarak are toning down their outrage as the path to democracy has become more complicated. Three weeks since the military ousted Mubarak's elected successor, the Islamist Mohamed Mursi, street artists who want neither religious nor military rule see little place in today's exhausted Egypt for their once defiant w

Third Square Youth Movement Seeks New Direction for Egypt

As clashes between Egyptian protesters continue, a small group of youth activists support neither the Muslim Brotherhood nor the army and are afraid that the growing tension will lead to more bloodshed.

Hamas militants hold a poster depicting Mohamed Morsy of the Muslim Brotherhood as they celebrate in the street in Gaza City after he was declared Egypt's first democratic president June 24, 2012. Morsy's win was hailed by Hamas, the Islamist group governing Gaza and which is locked in a power-struggle with the West Bank-based, U.S.-backed Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY MILITARY) - RTR343IV

Hamas Hits Back At 'Preposterous' Egypt Claims

Egyptian claims that Mohammed Morsi conspired with Hamas have been dismissed by the Islamist group as part of a "cheap campaign."

Supporters of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi walk during an anti-army rally that started from their sit-in area around Raba' al-Adawya mosque, east of Cairo, July 30, 2013. Europe's top diplomat, Catherine Ashton, shuttled between Egypt's rulers and the Muslim Brotherhood on Monday in a mission to pull the country back from more bloodshed, but both sides were unyielding after 80 Islamist supporters were gunned down. The posters read, "Yes to legitimacy , No to coup". REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT -

Egypt’s Precarious New Reality

One month after the June 30 demonstrations that led to the ouster of Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's civilian leaders are becoming increasingly marginal to the broader changes taking place in the country.

A supporter of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi hangs a poster of him on a wall during a march from the Al-Fath Mosque to the defence ministry, in Cairo July 30, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX124W1

Saudis Divided Over Egypt

Saudi fears of a democratic Egypt are deferred as long as Egypt is crippled by post-revolutionary turmoil.

People pray at the shrine of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Hussein ibn Ali at the Al-Hussein mosque, named after the grandson, before Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the mosque in old Cairo February 5, 2013. Ahmadinejad was both kissed and scolded on Tuesday when he began the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian president since Tehran's 1979 Islamic revolution. The trip was meant to underline a thaw in relations since Egyptians elected an Islamist head of state, President Mohamed Mursi, last Jun

The Coming Rapprochement Between Iran and the Brotherhood

As both Sunni and Shiite groups in the Middle East are targeted by the West and its allies, some predict a forthcoming Sunni-Shiite rapprochement.

Palestinians hold up posters of prisoners during a protest calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails near the Red Cross in Gaza City July 29, 2013. Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved the release of 104 Arab prisoners to help restart peace talks with the Palestinians and end nearly three years of diplomatic stagnation.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has demanded the release of prisoners held since before a 1993 interim peace accord took effect. Israel has jailed thousands more

Hamas Goes on Offensive Against Egyptian Media

After initially staying silent on Egypt, Hamas has decided to respond to media accusations against it by launching a campaign of its own.

Anti-Mursi protesters cheer and hold up a poster depicting U.S. president Barack Obama with a beard at Tahrir square, where protesters gathered for a mass protest to support the army, in Cairo, July 26, 2013. Egypt's army is recasting the country's political drama, giving popular army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi the starring role in a change with echoes of the past that could undermine democracy in the Arab world. Picture taken July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST M

US Uneasily Adjusts to 'New Egypt'

US Ambassador Anne Patterson had it right about the perils of "popular democracy."