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

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Egypt

March 21, 2026

Cairo 8:10 am

16°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

An Islamic Jihad militant stands guard during a rally marking the 25th anniversary of the movement's foundation in Gaza City October 4, 2012. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST ANNIVERSARY) - RTR38SLK

Palestinian Islamic Jihad Unfazed by Egypt Crisis

Palestinian Islamic Jihad is maintaining its approach of strict neutrality concerning regional developments including Egypt's latest crisis.

A Palestinian woman carries her daughter as she makes her way to fill a container with water from a nearby tank in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip June 20, 2013. A tiny wedge of land jammed between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean sea, the Gaza Strip is heading inexorably into a water crisis that the United Nations says could make the Palestinian enclave unliveable in just a few years. Picture taken June 20, 2013. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY ENERGY BUSINESS) - RTX11

Hamas Feigns Optimism As Gaza Limps Toward Crisis

Though Hamas downplays the effects on Gaza of the unrest in Egypt and the closure of the Rafah crossing, economists worry that conditions in the Strip are about to reach a new low.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a news conference, part of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), at the Kremlin in Moscow, July 1, 2013. Putin said on Monday that Russia would not hand former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden over to the United States but that if Snowden wants to stay in Russia he "must stop his work aimed at harming our American partners". REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY BUSINESS) - RTX118XS

Russia Steers Conservative, Steady Course in Middle East

Unlike the United States, Russia can walk away from the Middle East at any time.

A portrait of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi is seen on barbed wire outside the Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo July 8, 2013. At least 51 people were killed on Monday when demonstrators enraged by the military overthrow of Egypt's elected Islamist president said the army opened fire during morning prayers outside the Cairo barracks where Mursi is believed to be held .REUTERS/Louafi Larbi (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTX11GWI

Gulf States Embrace Post-Brotherhood Egypt

Gulf states are lining up to support Egypt after President Mohammed Morsi's ouster, including more than $8 billion in financial assistance, but should do more to ensure the country does not repeat the mistakes of the past.

A supporter of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi reads the Koran at the Rabaa Adawiya square where Mursi's supporters are camping in Cairo July 9, 2013. Egypt's interim head of state has set a speedy timetable for elections to drag the Arab world's biggest country from crisis, after the military ouster of Mursi last week sparked a wave of bloody protests. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX11HD4

Egypt's Moral Test

The challenges of the second transition in Egypt will not be overcome by sheer force or security measures alone, but through prudence, restraint, a spirit of reconciliation and high moral standards.

Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shout anti-army slogans during a protest in Cairo July 9, 2013. Egypt's interim President Adli Mansour on Tuesday named liberal economist and former finance minister Hazem el-Beblawi as prime minister in a transitional government, as the authorities sought to steer the country to new parliamentary and presidential elections. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX11HY6

Iran, Iraq React Differently to Morsi's Fall

A comparison of the Iraqi and Iranian reactions to the situation in Egypt shows a profound difference in their perspectives on democracy.

A policeman (C) cheers with protesters, who are against Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, as they dance and react in front of the Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo July 3, 2013. Egypt's armed forces overthrew elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday and announced a political transition with the support of a wide range of political, religious and youth leaders. A statement published in Mursi's name on his official Facebook page after head of Egypt's armed forces General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi

The Blame for Egypt Goes to Morsi

The military's firing on pro-Muslim Brotherhood protesters has escalated the crisis to a deadlier level, but it is former President Mohammed Morsi and the Brotherhood who got Egypt to this point.

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a speech in the Grand Hall of Cairo University June 4, 2009. Obama sought a "new beginning" between the United States and the Muslim world on Thursday but offered no new initiative to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, an omission likely to disappoint many. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (EGYPT POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR249M5

Israel Concerned By US Hesitancy in Egypt

In view of American hesitant reactions to events in Egypt, Israeli officials wonder: Is the United States losing its grip on events in the Middle East?

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) shakes hands with Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani (L) in Baghdad, July 7, 2013. Barzani visited Baghdad on Sunday for the first time in more than two years, in a symbolic step to resolve disputes between the central government and the autonomous region over land and oil. The visit follows an equally rare trip by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki who met Barzani in Kurdistan last month, breaking ice between leaders who have repeatedly accused each other of vi

What are Egypt's Lessons for Iraq?

Having less to do with regional sectarian Sunni-Shiite disputes, Iraq’s political players should focus on the failure of political Islam in their analyses of the June 30 events in Egypt.

Turkey Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is pictured after his speech during conference in Ankara, June 18, 2013. Police raided addresses across Turkey on Tuesday and detained dozens of people in an operation linked to three weeks of often violent protests against Erdogan. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10S0B

Egypt Upheaval Deepens Turkey’s Regional Isolation

Ankara and Riyadh are at loggerheads over Egypt as the “Sunni Axis” collapses.

Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah carry his pictures and shout slogans near the site of an explosion in Beirut's southern suburbs, July 9, 2013. A car bomb exploded on Tuesday in a Beirut stronghold district of the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group that has been fighting in Syria's civil war, wounding at least 38 people, a hospital official told Reuters. REUTERS/Khalil Hassan (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX11HIU

Morsi's Ouster Leaves Hezbollah Uncertain About Egypt Ties

Hezbollah remains unsure of what to make of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi’s ouster.

A protester, with his forehead painted with the colours of the Egyptian flag, sits on sand bags used to secure the entrance of Tahrir square, in Cairo, July 9, 2013. REUTERS/ Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX11HQ0

Five Lessons From Egypt'sSecond Revolution

The dynamics of change in Egypt and the direction they will take.