Egypt - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Egypt cover image

Egypt

April 20, 2026

Cairo 1:26 am

17°C

A man walks through the atrium during the 2026 IMF and World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

IMF slashes Mideast outlook by nearly 3 points as Iran war hits economies

The International Monetary Fund cut gross domestic product forecasts for the Middle East and North Africa, with the fallout from the conflict exposing stark divergences between the region’s energy exporters and importers.

Sayed Hassan/Getty Images

Analysis

Egypt eyes energy breakthroughs as Iran war deepens gas crunch

Among countries outside the Gulf conflict's direct line of fire, few have felt the shockwaves as acutely as Egypt.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A police speed boat patrols the port as oil tankers and high speed crafts sit anchored at Muscat Anchorage near the Strait of Hormuz on March 30, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.

Analysis

Hostage to Hormuz, can Gulf rewire future energy flows to bypass Iran’s chokepoint?

As the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts around 20% of global oil supply, experts point to opportunities and challenges facing a renewed push to develop alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A view of the platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea is pictured from the Israeli northern coastal beach of Nasholim, on Aug. 29, 2022.

Israel energy minister says gas flowing to Egypt, Jordan despite shutdown reports

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen told Al-Monitor that despite security concerns and partial shut down of marine gas platforms, Israel continues to supply gas to Egypt, Jordan and Israeli consumers.

Latest News

Egypt closes stores early, Jordan bans AC as Iran war takes toll

Shops close early, on March 28, 2026, in Cairo, Egypt.

Analysis

Oil-rich Gulf states could face power crunch as Iran war hits energy security

A general view of South Pars gas field facilities in the southern Iranian port town of Assaluyeh, on the Gulf, Nov. 19, 2015.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

How Egypt is navigating limited options in Iran war to stay neutral

US President Donald Trump and President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi clasp hands as they speak to the press before their meeting on Oct. 13, 2025, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Analysis

Oil crisis stokes inflation risks for Mideast as Iran war exposes importers

Smoke and flames rise at the site of airstrikes on an oil depot in Tehran on March 7, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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

U.S. President Barack Obama (7th R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (6th R) pose with members of Israel's defense force as he views an Iron Dome Battery at Ben Gurion International Airport Airport in Tel Aviv March 20, 2013. Obama said at the start of his first official visit to Israel on Wednesday that the U.S. commitment to the security of the Jewish state was rock solid and that peace must come to the Holy Land. REUTERS/Jason Reed (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3F84T

Can the Israeli Defense Budget Be Cut In Half?

A veteran Israeli Defense Forces general claims the threats to Israel today do not require a massive military or huge air force.

An anti-Mursi demonstrator holds pans reading, "Mubarak - Mursi" during a protest near the High Court in Cairo March 29, 2013. Anti-Mursi demonstrators marched the streets of downtown Cairo, protesting orders taken by prosecutor general, Talaat Ibrahim, to arrest five activists last week, a step the opposition decried as a reversal for democracy. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXY287

The Future of Egypt's Opposition

Egypt must experiment with strategies for exercising legitimate political pressure, with the aim of bringing President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood into a more inclusive democratic process, writes Bassem Sabry.

Egyptian Coptic Christians greet and take pictures of Coptic Pope Tawadros II (2nd L), head of the Coptic Orthodox church, as he arrives to celebrate a Coptic Orthodox Easter mass at Cairo's main cathedral May 4, 2013. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: RELIGION) - RTXZASF

Egypt’s Christians Hope for a Better Future

Egypt’s Coptic community was relieved that Easter passed this month without incident, although many worry about trends under the Muslim Brotherhood, writes Zenobia Azeem.

Policemen stand guard near a poster outside the constitutional court put up by supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi as they stage a sit-in, in Cairo December 23, 2012. Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi will have little time to savour victory in pushing through a new constitution as it may have cost the Islamist leader broader support for urgent austerity measures needed to fix the creaking economy. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (EGYPT) - RTR3BUY2

Egypt’s New Cabinet: More of the Same

Nervana Mahmoud writes that the new cabinet announced by President Mohammed Morsi offers little prospect for progress or change.

A convoy of Israeli Prison Authority vehicles leaves Ela prison in the southern city of Beersheba, as they transport Egyptian prisoners due to be released through the border crossing next to the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Taba, October 27, 2011. Egyptians gathered at the border with Israel on Thursday awaiting the handover of prisoners to be exchanged for an American-Israeli man held by Egypt and accused of spying. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTR2T9EU

Egyptian Prisoners Languish In Israeli Jails

Egyptian prisoners in Israeli jails are launching a hunger strike, in the hope that Cairo starts taking interest in their plight, writes Shlomi Eldar.

'Mahraganat': New Hybrid Music Wave Sweeps Egypt

Ongoing turmoil in Egypt has created a vacuum that is being filled with frenetic beats in uncontrolled public spaces perfect for all-night parties, writes Mosa’ab Elshamy.

Soldiers of the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), stand on an observation tower overlooking Syria and located on the Israeli side of the 1973 Golan Heights ceasefire line with Syria March 21, 2012. Blue-helmeted United Nations peacekeeping troops patrolling a slice of Syrian territory to maintain a ceasefire with Israel face new risks as violence between Syrian government loyalists and rebels gets closer. Picture taken March 21, 2012. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR2ZRIQ

UN Forces on Israel’s Borders Confront Uncertain Future

Geoffrey Aronson writes from Cairo that while Egypt and Israel appear to be weathering the storm, for now, not so for Israel and Syria, with implications for UN forces tasked with keeping the peace.

A sign post near Kibbutz Merom Golan in the Golan Heights shows the distance from Israel's northern border to other destinations May 2, 2013. Israel's military said on Tuesday it had called up hundreds of reservists for a drill in northern Israel where tensions are high with neighbours Syria and Lebanon, but a military spokesman said there was no change in the overall security situation. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed the territory in 1981, a move not re

Israel’s Strategic Reset

Israel is reconsidering its new strategic approach to the region in the context of US policies toward Iran, Syria, Egypt and Israeli-Palestinian peace, writes Ben Caspit.

Palestinian policemen loyal to Hamas inspect the scene after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City April 30, 2013. An Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian and wounded another in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, medics said, in the first targeted attack against militants since a ceasefire ended an eight-day war in November. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTXZ4BM

Hamas Enforces Quiet Border With Israel

Alon Ben David writes: That Hamas hasn’t replenished its supply of rockets lately is further proof of an ideological turnabout underway in the movement.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) shakes hands with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani as they meet with members of the Arab League at Blair House in Washington, April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZ41W

The Two Faces of Qatar

Shlomi Eldar considers Qatar's promoting peace based on compromises between Israel and the Palestinians while promoting a sectarian Islamic agenda by supporting armed groups in Syria.

Cairo's Art Festivals Engulfed in Politics

Cutting-edge art festivals in Cairo blend art and politics, Sarah el-Sirgany reports from Cairo.

Diplomats from the United States and Israel are seen with other mourners as they bury veteran Jewish leader Carmen Weinstein, at the Bassatine Cemetery, Cairo's only active Jewish burial site, in Cairo, April 18, 2013. Weinstein, 82, died last Saturday at her home in Cairo where she was known over the past two decades for leading efforts to preserve the overwhelmingly Muslim country's Jewish heritage. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS OBITUARY) - RTXYQYI

Jews in Egypt: The Story Of a Dying Community

The passing of Carmen Weinstein, leader of the Egyptian Jewish community, symbolizes the near-end of the community in the land of the Nile, writes Jacky Hugi.