Egypt’s presidency slammed a story published in the daily Shorouk newspaper on Wednesday evening stating that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi gave instructions to police to stop any protests on 25 April, an official statement released on Thursday read.

The story, according to the presidency, “included misleading information attributed to anonymous sources” about a series of meetings conducted by El-Sisi and his aides with security officials.

However, the statement did not specify what parts of the article included “misleading information,” which it described as “completely untrue in substance” while criticising the paper for not confirming the story before publishing.

The article stated that El-Sisi met with police officials "to express his anger" over the protests that took place in Cairo on Friday against the government’s recent agreement to give two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

The piece stated that "the president told his aides that he will not allow this scene to be repeated on 25 April," which has been set by dissenters as a date for further protests against the deal.

The presidency called on all media outlets to ensure accuracy, rely on official sources and verify news related to the presidency before publication.

Thousands of Egyptians protested on Friday against the recent cabinet decision to acknowledge Saudi Arabia's sovereignty over the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir, which caused widespread controversy in Egypt.