'We think' the Iranians and Americans want to negotiate, Egyptian FM says

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said he believed Iran and the United States wanted to negotiate, but called for a "concrete deal" to prevent another escalation. He also said Cairo was still "counting" on US President Donald Trump to "move forward" with the stalled Gaza peace plan and was "confident" US military aid to Egypt would continue. 

Speaking to FRANCE 24 after the US midterm elections, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said he believed both Tehran and Washington wanted to negotiate. "We think so. And they are working for negotiations," he said of the Iranians, adding that the same was true of the Americans. However, this is "not enough to prevent another round of escalation. That's why we need to have a concrete deal," Abdelatty explained.

After Egypt's parliament approved defensive military aid to Saudi Arabia, a senior Houthi official warned that Cairo would then also be at war with the Yemeni rebels. Asked about this, the foreign minister said Egypt already had a military presence in the kingdom, at Riyadh's request, and was "strengthening that", stressing that it was "mainly for defensive objectives".

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On Gaza, a year after Donald Trump's peace plan was announced, Abdelatty admitted that its first phase had yet to be fully implemented, citing aid shortfalls and daily Israeli targeted killings of Palestinians, while saying Hamas's disarmament remained "the main problem". But "we have full confidence in the leadership of President Trump to deliver", he asserted.

Abdelatty also said he was "confident" that US military aid to Egypt would continue, even after Trump announced an end to military aid to Israel. Responding to commments by Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's newly elected Egyptian American senator, who has called for an end to all US military aid to the region, he said that a "strong Egypt is very important for the interests of the United States", calling his country "the main pillar of stability" in the region.