Egypt's FM says Iran and US want to negotiate, but warns a real deal is needed

Badr Abdelatty sat down with FRANCE 24 after the US midterm elections, and his read on Iran and the United States was blunt: in his view, both sides want to negotiate. "We think so. And they are working for negotiations," he said of the Iranians, adding the same was true of the Americans. But he warned that goodwill alone won't hold — it is "not enough to prevent another round of escalation. That's why we need to have a concrete deal."

On Gaza, Abdelatty admitted that a year after Donald Trump unveiled his peace plan, its first phase still isn't fully implemented. He cited aid shortfalls and daily Israeli targeted killings of Palestinians, and said Hamas's disarmament remains "the main problem." Still, he gave the US president warm words: "We have full confidence in the leadership of President Trump to deliver."

Abdelatty said he is "confident" US military aid to Egypt will continue, even after Trump announced an end to military aid for Israel. He pushed back on Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's newly elected Egyptian American senator, who has called for cutting off all US military aid to the region. A "strong Egypt is very important for the interests of the United States," Abdelatty said, calling his country "the main pillar of stability" in the region.

The interview also swung to Yemen. After Egypt's parliament approved defensive military aid to Saudi Arabia, a senior Houthi official warned Cairo would then also be at war with the rebels. Abdelatty's reply: Egypt already has a military presence in the kingdom at Riyadh's request and is "strengthening that," but the mission is "mainly for defensive objectives."