President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi said on Monday that Egypt has tried through its sincere efforts over recent months to avert a war in the region with the aim of bringing viewpoints closer and mediating between the US and Iran.
“We made sincere efforts to avert this war because of its devastating consequences for the countries involved and for their neighbours,” Al-Sisi said.
“Wars can lead to the collapse of countries and not just the collapse of regimes, and this will have a very negative impact on the stability of the region,” he added.
In mediating between the US and Iran, Al-Sisi said Egypt had been keen to emphasise the importance of de-escalation and reducing tensions.
“We hope that this war will stop soon, although I doubt this will be possible,” Al-Sisi said.
Egypt is an essential part of the Middle East region and will surely be impacted by the war, he said, also emphasising that Egypt condemns Iran’s military targeting of the Arab Gulf countries.
“We support our brothers in the Gulf, and we stand in solidarity with them because we strongly believe that Egypt’s national security is part of the Arab Gulf’s security,” Al-Sisi said.
He said that Egypt is wary of the consequences of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its negative effects on the Suez Canal. “Egypt’s economy has been affected since 7 October 2023, as navigation through the Suez Canal has not returned to its normal level since then, resulting in heavy financial losses,” Al-Sisi said.
He cited the negative economic impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and then the war in Gaza, and now the Iranian war on Egypt. He urged the government to prepare for all possible scenarios in the war and their impact on Egypt.
“It is important that the state and the people remain united,” Al-Sisi said, adding that stability and resilience are key pillars during the crisis.
Speaking about the possible impact of the ongoing war on Egypt’s security, Al-Sisi said that “we have been careful to take the necessary precautions, even though we do not know how long the crisis will last.”
“People should be confident that no one will be able to harm Egypt.”
Once the US and Israeli attacks on Iran started on Saturday morning, the Foreign Ministry released a statement reiterating that “the only path to ensuring security and stability lies in a commitment to the choice of diplomacy and dialogue.”
When news came through of the Iranian attacks on the Gulf Arab countries, Al-Sisi held a series of telephone calls with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, and Iraq, in which he stressed that “any infringement of the sovereignty of Arab states represents a direct threat to regional stability.”
Al-Sisi stressed that “political and diplomatic solutions are the best way to overcome crises, and continued military escalation will only bring more suffering to the peoples of the region and undermine development opportunities.”
He stressed “Egypt’s full solidarity with its brotherly Arab countries that have been subjected to Iranian attacks,” adding that “Egypt categorically rejects any threat or targeting of the security, sovereignty, and stability of the Arab countries.”
In another statement on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry condemned Iran’s targeting of “the unity and territorial integrity of Arab states and the violation of their sovereignty” and warned of the entire region sliding into “a state of total chaos”.
During a public session of the House of Representatives, the lower house of Egypt’s parliament, on Sunday, Speaker Hisham Badawi stressed that the unity of the Arab countries is a safety valve for confronting challenges and emphasised that the security of the Arab Gulf states is “an integral part of Arab national security”.
Badawi said that the House of Representatives supports all efforts aimed at preserving the stability of the region and sparing its peoples the ravages of conflicts.
He called on the international community to assume its responsibilities and take immediate action to contain the escalation and prevent the region from sliding into the throes of a wider conflict.
A large number of MPs demanded that Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli come to the House to deliver a statement on the government’s plans to deal with the war in the region.
MP Taher Al-Khouli said Madbouli should present MPs with his government’s plans for mitigating the impacts of the current war on Egypt’s economy amid reports about new threats to the Suez Canal and Israel preventing natural gas from reaching Egypt.
Wafdist MP Mohamed Abdel-Alim and independent MP Mustafa Bakri also asked that Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty come to the House to answer questions on the conflict, which is not limited to Iran alone but affects the entire Arab region.
“Egypt is not excluded, nor is Turkey, and Arab national security is indivisible,” Bakri said.
An Egyptian official source denied that Israel had informed Egypt of its intention to attack Iran 48 hours before it was carried out, which has been reported in some Hebrew-language media outlets.
The source stressed that this was false, according to Al-Qahera TV channel.
He confirmed Egypt’s position, calling for the resolution of crises through diplomatic channels.
Member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs and former assistant foreign minister Mohamed Hegazy affirmed that the security and safety of the region represent “one of the pillars of Egypt’s diplomacy”.
He pointed to President Al-Sisi’s contacts with the leaders of the Gulf states, and the contacts being made by Abdelatty to try to find a way out of the current crisis and return to the negotiating table.
“Egypt is working to contain the situation, so that it does not become a comprehensive regional conflict that harms everyone’s interests and the security and stability of the region,” he said.
Hegazy said Egypt believes that the US must immediately consider the Iranian negotiating position and try to reach a compromise that the international community can adopt through a ceasefire resolution issued by the UN Security Council, or, as happened during the confrontation between Israel, the US, and Iran last June, take it upon itself to restrain Israel, stop its aggression against Iran, and invite its leaders back to the negotiating table.
Hegazy recalled that Egypt has been exerting tremendous efforts over recent weeks to prevent a war in the region.
“Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has been trying through telephone contacts to convince Iranian and American officials of the necessity of dialogue and de-escalation,” Hegazy said.
“Just one day before the attacks Abdelatty had telephone calls with US President Donald Trump’s Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy for Africa and the Middle East Massad Boulos, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed, and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.”
Egypt’s position has been consistent in employing diplomatic tools and aiming to reach results at the negotiating table, and this policy had achieved results in the first round of the negotiations between the US and Iran that had appeared positive to all observers, he said.
However, “the United States and Israel chose to move towards a military option that opens the horizon to every sort of danger.”
* A version of this article appears in print in the 5 March, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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