At the eleventh hour, when the world was on edge in anticipation of a possible dramatic, nightmarish shift for the US-Israeli war on Iran, the mood shifted as the US, Israel, and Iran announced their agreement to the suspension of hostilities and the full and unconstrainted reoperation of the Strait of Hormuz.
The news came a little past midnight, Cairo time. At that moment, a team of Egyptian officials were gathered in a crisis room in a government building at the New Capital working the phones and closely monitoring the cables from Egyptian embassies and developments on news channels.
According to an official who was in that room, when the two-week truce was announced everybody rejoiced. Then, he said, Egyptian diplomats were on the phone with one another sharing a diplomatic victory that was reached with close to six weeks of resilient and quiet diplomacy.
The official said that it was “actually” Egypt who initiated the diplomatic demarche that produced the truce when the foreign ministers of Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia met in Saudi Arabia last month. “It was a de facto alliance of countries who saw what a prolonged conflict would mean to every one of them and to the entire region,” he stated.
The scheme, “right from the beginning”, was not to come up with a final answer to the pending questions of all the parties, but rather to come with the least common denominator: “something that could help everyone agree to end the war without feeling humiliated.”
“Given the disarray in Tehran following the elimination of top leaders on the first day of the war and the difficulties of reaching to those who could call the shots, it was not easy at all but we opened every possible and indirect channel,” he said.
He added that it was not easy also getting the message through to Washington, given the many conflicting views on this war.
As for Israel, he said, it was hard to find anyone who was willing to talk about ending the war, because for the Israelis, “all across the political spectrum”, this was a war that needed to continue until the regime was fully toppled.
“We worked on a slowly-but-surely approach of building blocks one after the other,” he said. He added that all concerned Egyptian bodies and officials were involved in the process that included endless phone calls and meetings, in and out of Egypt, most of which went unannounced.
“About a week ago, we thought there was possibly a light at the end of the tunnel, but we were not sure we will get there,” he stated.
“We agreed on a draft that we thought could lead to a truce and we worked on amending it, almost every hour of every day,” he added.
ِAnd with the anticipated expiration of US President Donald Trump’s deadline to Iran on Tuesday to accept a deal with the US and Israel or face what he called the “gates of hell”, Egypt, alongside Turkey and Pakistan, were racing against time to convince Tehran to agree to a proposal that includes a 45-day ceasefire as a prelude to a final agreement that would put a permanent end to the 38-day war.
While an Iranian official announced that Tehran was studying the peace proposal but was “not open” to a temporary ceasefire, Trump confirmed to reporters on Monday that Tuesday is the deadline for Iran.
Trump has been escalating his threats against Iran ever further ahead of his Tuesday night deadline for Tehran to strike a ceasefire deal. He warned in a social media post on Tuesday that “a whole civilisation will die tonight if Iran does not reach an agreement.”
Sources told the American news website Axios that negotiations are taking place indirectly between the US and Iran through mediators from Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey. However, they indicated that the chances of reaching a partial agreement within the next 48 hours are slim.
Acting on directives from President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty ramped up contacts this week in a bid to prevent a dangerous escalation of the war.
On Saturday, Abdelatty held intensive communications with a number of regional and international officials, including US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdullah Al Thani, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul-Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohamed Ishaq Dar, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi.
According to Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tamim Khallaf, Abdelatty’s phone contacts on Saturday, especially with his Pakistani and Turkish counterparts, focused on discussing a proposal to reach a ceasefire agreement and reopen the Strait of Hormuz before the end of the 10-day ultimatum that Trump has issued to Iran.
The US media said the US had received a proposal from Egyptian, Pakistani, and Turkish mediators working to halt the fighting. Axios said the mediators had proposed a 45-day ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
“During this period, there will be negotiations to resolve the issue of Iran’s highly enriched uranium, either by removing it from the country or diluting it,” Axios said.
Abdelatty explained that the main purpose of the 45-day window put forward by the mediators was to provide enough time for extensive talks between the US and Iran to reach a permanent ceasefire.
He told Al-Qahera News TV channel that the whole world is now paying the price for the Iran war. “This explains why Egypt is making intensive efforts to reach a political solution to the Iran war as soon as possible,” Abdelatty said.
The American media said Trump had decided to extend his deadline to Tuesday night to give Iran time to discuss the proposal and give a positive response.
On Monday, ahead of Trump’s deadline, Abdelatty held another round of phone calls with regional and international officials. He said the mediators were doing their best to avoid further escalation and hoping that their proposal was not the last opportunity to prevent an unprecedented regional conflagration.
“There is a pressing need to prioritise wisdom to defuse tensions and avoid a catastrophic scenario from which no party will be immune,” said Abdelatty, also stressing the importance of prioritising dialogue and diplomacy to reach a consensual solution that can lead to peace and contain the escalating military situation in the region before the Iranian deadline expires.
The contacts on Monday included an assessment of the rapidly evolving situation and the efforts being made to reach understandings between the US and Iran to achieve de-escalation, given the seriousness of the situation and the delicate turning point the region is witnessing, Abdelatty said.
Abdelatty spoke with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for the Middle East Jean Arnault, and US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Abdelatty said his contacts had focused primarily on calling for an immediate de-escalation of military tensions, especially with the approaching deadline set by Trump, and for Iran to respond to the US proposal.
Abdelatty indicated that his contacts had stressed the categorical rejection of attacks on civilian facilities and condemned Iran’s attacks on the Gulf states along with Jordan and Iraq.
Egypt considered this a clear violation of international law, he said.
The UAE’s WAM news agency announced in a statement on 3 April that Hossam Sadek Khalifa, an Egyptian petroleum engineer, died as a result of shrapnel falling on the Habshan gas facilities in Abu Dhabi, following a successful interception of an attack by air defences.
“Khalifa died during the evacuation of the site, while two persons of Egyptian nationality were also slightly injured,” WAM said.
On Sunday, hundreds of people attended the funeral of Khalifa in his hometown of Mit Ghamr in the Nile Delta governorate of Daqahliya.
Abdelatty said his contacts on Monday had emphasised the dangerous economic repercussions of the Iran war and said its continuation would affect energy supplies, particularly oil, and food security for a long time to come.
Al-Ahram political and strategic analyst Hassan Abu Taleb believes that Cairo is relying on a number of factors in its role as a major mediator, most notably its ability to maintain balanced communication channels with various parties, whether the US or Israel, on the one hand, or Iran, on the other.
“These contacts made by Abdelatty with a number of regional and international senior officials also reflect a clear effort by Egypt to reduce tensions and create an atmosphere conducive to dialogue,” Abu Taleb said.
Political science professor Mona Makram Ebeid also thinks that Egypt has emerged as a key mediator and is exerting prudent diplomatic pressure that balances containing the escalation with preserving regional stability.
“This represents Egypt’s role, which stands out as a cornerstone of stability, with President Al-Sisi leading a vision that prioritises political solutions and avoids sliding into open confrontations that could lead the region to unforeseen consequences,” Ebeid said.
“This vision is clearly manifested in the intensive diplomatic activity led by Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, who is working in continuous coordination with regional partners, most notably Faisal bin Farhan.”
She also commended Abdelatty’s visit to Pakistan last week and his attempt to resolve the crisis through consultations with all the concerned parties. “This is a dual-containment approach that strengthens Egypt’s role as an indispensable mediator,” she said.
As part of Egypt’s policy of intensive diplomacy, Abdelatty also visited Moscow on 2 April, holding meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 April, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
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