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

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Egypt

March 21, 2026

Cairo 11:28 am

17°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

A portrait of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi in seen on the ground at the Raba El-Adwyia mosque square in Cairo July 6, 2013. Egypt counted its dead on Saturday after Islamists enraged by the overthrow of Mursi took to the streets in an explosion of violence against what they denounced as a military coup. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX11ELU

Egypt Loses Leadership Role Potential As Well as President

The Morsi presidency could have helped resolve the region’s myriad conflicts if it had achieved reconciliation at home.

Anti-Mursi protesters are pictured during clashes with members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi near Maspero, Egypt's state TV and radio station, near Tahrir square in Cairo July 5, 2013. Seventeen people were killed in violence in Egypt on Friday as supporters of deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi protested his overthrow by the army, state television said, quoting Health Ministry data. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL

Egypt’s North Sinai Under Curfew Following Deadly Clashes

Sinai is divided by the coup which overthrew Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi.

A boy balances a poster of Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi on his bicycle during a pro-Islamist demonstration in Istanbul July 1, 2013. Pro-Islamist groups held a demonstration in Istanbul in support of Mursi on Tuesday. Egypt's armed forces handed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi a virtual ultimatum to share power on Monday, giving feuding politicians 48 hours to compromise or have the army impose its own road map for the country. The slogan on the poster reads, " We will not let you victimise him". REUTER

Egyptian Coup Shakes Turkey

Turkey struggles to find the right response to the military coup in Egypt.

Turkey's Prime Minister and leader of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Tayyip Erdogan (R) and his guest Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi greet the audience during AK Party congress in Ankara September 30, 2012. Erdogan trumpeted Turkey's credentials as a rising democratic power on Sunday, saying his Islamist-rooted ruling party had become an example to the Muslim world after a decade in charge. Addressing thousands of party members and regional leaders at a congress of his Justice and Development (

Coup in Egypt Strategic Loss For Erdogan

The Egyptian military coup that overthrew Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is a blow to Turkey’s regional strategy under the AKP government.

A protester supporting deposed Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi holds a poster of Mursi during clashes outside the Republican Guard barracks where Mursi is being held in Cairo July 5, 2013. At least three protesters were shot dead on Friday outside the barracks in Cairo, security sources said, as angry Islamist supporters confronted troops across the country. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX11DTC

A New Era for Egypt

Though Mohammed Morsi was the legitimate, elected president of Egypt, he quickly lost actual popular legitimacy by isolating large segments of the Egyptian population.

Egypt's Islamist President-elect Mohamed Mursi waves to his supporters while surrounded by his members of the presidential guard in Cairo's Tahrir Square, June 29, 2012. Mursi took an informal oath of office on Friday before tens of thousands of supporters in Cairo's Tahrir Square, in a slap at the generals trying to limit his power. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR34DDN

Morsi Never Had a Chance

There isn’t a politician in the world who can provide for the “will of the people” in post-revolutionary Egypt, because the people’s demands are excessive and impossible to fulfill.

A supporter of former Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi performs prayers near Cairo University in Cairo July 4, 2013. The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood was arrested by Egyptian security forces on Thursday in a crackdown against the Islamist movement after the army ousted the country's first democratically elected president Mursi. At least 16 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in street clashes across Egypt since Mursi's overthrow. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX1

Does Morsi's Fall Mark Failure of Islamism?

The decades-old ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood has failed its test as a mode of governance in a modern state.

(R-L) U.S. ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, Israel's military chief Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz, Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak and U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta stand together during a welcoming ceremony for Panetta in Tel Aviv August 1, 2012. REUTERS/Gali Tibbon/Pool (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR35SOI

Israel Hopes the US Will Learn From Egypt

The Israeli political class, gathered for the Fourth of July reception, voiced hopes that the Obama administration learns from its mistakes in US policy and starts recognizing pockets of hope where they emerge.

A man is silhouetted against the sunset as Egyptian military jets fly in formation over Tahrir square in Cairo July 4, 2013. The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood was arrested by Egyptian security forces on Thursday in a crackdown against the Islamist movement after the army ousted the country's first democratically elected president Mohamed Mursi. Adli Mansour, head of Egypt's constitution court, was sworn in as the interim head of state on Friday. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL

Was Morsi's Ouster a Coup Or New Egyptian Revolution?

Egypt’s new uprising has for now delivered what the people wanted, and they know they can do it again, if necessary.

Adli Mansour (C), Egypt's chief justice and head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, is applauded by other judges after his swearing in ceremony as the nation's interim president in Cairo July 4, 2013, a day after the army ousted Mohamed Mursi as head of state. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX11C5B

Morsi Regime Figures ArrestedAs Interim President Takes Oath

As a new president took power in the name of the people, Egyptian authorities began arresting about 300 leaders and supporters of Mohammed Morsi's regime.

A boy with his face painted in the colours of Egypt's national flag attends a rally held by anti-Mursi protesters at Tahrir square in Cairo July 4, 2013. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX11CR8

How Morsi, Brotherhood Lost Egypt

Inclusion and civil cohesion must become the cornerstone of Egypt’s transition.

Egyptian soldiers keep guard as heavy equipment destroy smuggling tunnels beneath the Egyptian-Gaza border in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip February 19, 2013. Egypt will not tolerate a two-way flow of smuggled arms with the Gaza Strip that is destabilising its Sinai peninsula, a senior aide to its Islamist president said, explaining why Egyptian forces flooded sub-border tunnels last week. To match Interview PALESTINIANS-TUNNELS/EGYPT REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

Hamas Isolated After Coup in Egypt

The fall of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the change of leadership in Qatar and the loss of Iranian support have left Hamas isolated.