President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi said this week that Egypt is intensifying efforts and communicating with all the concerned parties to end the war in the Middle East as soon as possible, strengthen Arab cooperation in confronting security challenges, and establish a joint Arab force.
Al-Sisi made the remarks in separate phone calls with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and King Abdullah of Jordan, affirming Egypt’s condemnation of Iran’s attacks targeting Arab countries and expressing its readiness to provide all forms of support to protect the Arab Gulf and the region.
Al-Sisi also underscored the necessity of ensuring collective Arab security in a way that can confront all attacks against Arab nations. He emphasised that Egypt views Gulf security as an inseparable extension of its own national security and called for a unified front to confront “unjustified” violations, a clear reference to recent Iranian strikes on the Gulf countries.
Al-Sisi’s contacts with Arab leaders came just two days after he received a phone call from Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“The two leaders discussed possible ways to end the escalation,” Presidential Spokesman Mohamed Al-Shennawi said, adding that “Al-Sisi emphasised Egypt’s readiness to exert every effort to mediate and prioritise political and diplomatic solutions to the current crisis.”
Pezeshkian thanked Egypt and Al-Sisi for his role in de-escalating tensions and said that Iran is keen on maintaining “fraternal relations and good neighbourliness with the Arab states.”
“What we can conclude from Pezeshkian’s call is that officials in Iran believe that Egypt can play a role and take the initiative in ending the war through mediating with the US and the Arab countries and prioritising diplomatic solutions,” said political analyst Emadeddin Hussein.
He argued that this goes hand-in-hand with Egypt’s larger policies, which emphasise that there should be an end to the war as soon as possible because of its detrimental economic and security impacts on the region and the world.
At an Iftar banquet on Saturday, Al-Sisi said Egypt had lost around $10 billion, equivalent to LE500 billion, in revenues from the Suez Canal due to the Gaza war.
“As for the Iran war, it forced the government last week to raise fuel prices in reaction to the dramatic rise in global oil prices,” Al-Sisi said, adding that “I know there are negative feelings regarding the recent hike in fuel prices, which is something the government did not want to burden the people with, but the requirements of reality sometimes impose difficult measures to which there are no alternatives and in order to avoid harsher options and more dangerous consequences in the future.”
According to a recent report from Fitch Solutions, Egypt ranks as the third most vulnerable emerging market to economic repercussions from the US-Israel-Iran war. The report highlights “Egypt’s fragile external position, high exposure to energy price volatility, and unanchored inflation as the conflict drags into its third week.”
It claimed that more than 10 per cent of Egypt’s imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz and that the disruption of traffic in this chokepoint means greater delays to shipments and additional costs for the country.
Al-Sisi’s phone contacts came in tandem with a Gulf tour by Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty to strengthen solidarity and unify positions with the Gulf states in the face of the recent escalation in the war between Iran and the US-Israel axis.
Abdelatty headed to Riyadh on Monday on the fifth and final stop of his Arab tour to confirm Egypt’s full solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
His talks in Riyadh were scheduled to focus on coordinating joint efforts to reduce the escalation and tensions and promote calm in the region, in addition to formulating coordinated Arab action to protect the sovereignty and resources of the Arab countries.
During his visits to Qatar, the UAE, Oman, and Jordan, Abdelatty affirmed Egypt’s “rejection and full condemnation of Iran’s attacks, which aim to undermine the sovereignty of the Arab Gulf states, their national security, and the capabilities of their people.”
He said that “the security of the Arab Gulf states is an integral part of Egyptian national security.”
He reiterated the necessity of establishing joint preventive and defensive mechanisms, moving towards a practical framework for collective Arab security to address the “unprecedented challenges” of cross-border strikes and maritime blockages.
Former assistant foreign minister Rakha Ahmed Hassan explained that Abdelatty’s Gulf tour had three objectives, the first of which was “to affirm solidarity with the Gulf states in the face of Iran’s unjustified attacks.”
The second objective, said Hassan, is to “coordinate positions within the framework of Egypt’s readiness to mediate in order to stop the war and in the light of the call between Al-Sisi and Pezeshkian.”
“The third objective is to work on activating the mechanisms of joint Arab action and establishing a joint Arab force.”
Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki agreed that the idea of forming a joint Arab force was at the top of the agenda of Abdelatty’s discussions during his Gulf tour.
In an interview with Abu Dhabi TV channel Sky News Arabia, Zaki said the idea of a joint Arab force was first proposed by President Al-Sisi during an Arab summit meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh in 2015, but the discussion stopped after lengthy research as political understandings at that time were not complete in order for it to be translated into reality on the ground.
Zaki said that the regional situation in 2015 is different from that of 2026, and that there may be a greater need today for such an idea to be implemented.
He explained that the Arab League supports the idea, and that if member states express a desire to raise it again, it will be included on the agenda of the League’s upcoming meetings next month.
The attacks on the Arab Gulf states have shown to all that a joint Arab force can be a necessity in order to safeguard Arab national security against all forms of threats and aggression, Zaki said.
Military and political strategist Samir Ragheb said that the idea of a joint Arab force reflected Egypt’s readiness to provide military support to the Arab Gulf countries.
“When the Arab Gulf countries ask Egypt to provide it with military support in the form of deterrent weapons or personnel, it will be ready to do this immediately with no need for prior agreements,” said Ragheb, noting that the slogan “within striking distance” has been made reality by President Al-Sisi’s actions.
Acting upon an Egyptian initiative, the Council of Arab Information Ministers also condemned the blatant Iranian aggression against the Arab countries and attacks on their infrastructure and civilian facilities.
It urged Arab media outlets and social media not to be swayed by rumours that aim to sow discord among the Arab peoples.
Ragheb said that “Israel’s war in Gaza and Lebanon and now Iran’s targeting of the Arab countries show to all that there is a pressing need for collective Arab action to safeguard Arab national security.”
As efforts continue to coordinate Arab responses to the escalating tensions, Abdelatty stressed that the ongoing regional conflicts must not overshadow the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
While in Amman for talks with Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Abdelatty and the Jordanian officials called for the implementation of the plan proposed by US President Donald Trump on Gaza and urged an end to Israel’s illegal measures in the Occupied West Bank.
In a strategic push to stabilise the situation in the Gaza Strip, Cairo has been coordinating closely with the European Union to formalise the reopening of the Rafah Crossing for individuals on the target date of 18 March.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s ground humanitarian aid has continued, with Egypt dispatching its 156th and 157th “Zad Al-Izza” humanitarian convoys to Gaza on 15-16 March. The massive shipments included thousands of tons of essential food and relief supplies, as well as fuel critical for maintaining the Strip’s basic infrastructure.
Egypt is also focusing on the situation in Lebanon. On Saturday, Abdelatty had a phone call with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to coordinate a unified response to the escalating crisis.
Abelatty sharply condemned the ongoing Israeli strikes and incursions, categorically rejecting any violation of Lebanese sovereignty.
He also discussed the situation in Lebanon with his French counterpart, stressing the necessity of an immediate halt to the Israeli violations and attacks on Lebanon and renewing Egypt’s full condemnation and categorical rejection of these attacks and any undermining of Lebanon’s unity and territorial integrity.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 19 March, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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