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How Did Egypt Get Close to Announcing ‘End of Terrorism’?

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi monitoring revision of Sinai development projects (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi monitoring revision of Sinai development projects (Egyptian Presidency)
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How Did Egypt Get Close to Announcing ‘End of Terrorism’?

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi monitoring revision of Sinai development projects (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi monitoring revision of Sinai development projects (Egyptian Presidency)

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has repeatedly made statements about his country succeeding in eliminating terrorism to a large extent. These claims have raised many questions about the steps Egypt has taken to fight terrorism.
Sisi had announced that Egypt will organize a massive celebration in the North Sinai Governorate.

The Egyptian governorate, over the past years, has been ailed by the presence of extremist groups.

The Egyptian army and police forces have launched a major security operation in north and central Sinai since February 2018 to purge the area from takfiris loyal to the terrorist organization ISIS. The campaign was named “Comprehensive Operation Sinai.”

Today, Sinai is witnessing many development projects for the restoration of its infrastructure. Recently, the region was visited by several ministers and officials.

Sisi noted that the North Sinai city of al-Arish witnessed the landing of a plane carrying Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly for the first time in almost eight years.

“We were not able to hold a (celebration) when al-Arish and Rafah were in the state they were seven years ago,” added the president.

Sisi mentioned general information about the planned celebration in al-Arish.

He said it would be a memorable one, noting that the event will also take place in other Sinai cities that suffered from terrorism in the past years, including Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid.

Sisi’s announcement signals stability and calm in Sinai after years of fighting “terrorism.”

In December 2017, unidentified attackers shelled al-Arish airport. The attack took place during a visit to the city by the Egyptian ministers of defense and interior.

At the time, the Egyptian army announced that an officer was killed, and two others were injured in the attack.

Madbouly, alongside seven ministers, had visited North Sinai in mid-January.

“The state, with all its affiliated bodies, has exerted arduous efforts to uproot terrorism in Sinai and at the same time establish development projects,” affirmed Madbouly.

Madbouly said the security situation in the governorate is stable, after tremendous efforts exerted by the state.

He also referred to the sacrifices made by the Armed Forces, the police, and the civilians to fight terrorism and restore stability to the region.

During an inspection tour of North Sinai, Madbouly talked about the aftermath of terrorist attacks targeting government and security institutions. He said that traces of bullets were still present on the facades of buildings.

“The celebration that Sisi announced in North Sinai proves that we are greatly close to eliminating the security challenges in Rafah, Sheikh Zuweid and al-Arish,” said Amr Abdel Moneim, an Egyptian researcher specializing in Islamic movements.

“The fete will be the result of a plan that was implemented successfully according to the methodologies of security operations and military strategies,” Moneim told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Moneim pointed out that the tribes in Sinai had participated in purging the region from terrorism.

Many victims of the Egyptian police and army fell during the anti-terrorism operations in Sinai.

Speaking on Egyptian Police Day on Monday, Sisi reminded attendees that Egypt has paid a steep price in its fight against terrorism.

North Sinai Governor Mohamed Abdel-Fadil Shousha affirmed that Sisi had allotted sizable attention to clear Sinai from terrorism and launch development projects there.

The Egyptian government, for its part, confirmed adopting a “comprehensive vision” for the reconstruction of the Sinai Peninsula after the elimination of “hotbeds of terrorism.”

Investments amounting to more than LE700 billion were and are being implemented to develop the Sinai Peninsula over eight years, the Egyptian government revealed.

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Features

At a Gaza Zoo, War Takes Its Toll on the Animals

A female lion sleeps inside a cage at a zoo in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, August 12, 2026. (Reuters)
A female lion sleeps inside a cage at a zoo in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, August 12, 2026. (Reuters)
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At a Gaza Zoo, War Takes Its Toll on the Animals

A female lion sleeps inside a cage at a zoo in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, August 12, 2026. (Reuters)
A female lion sleeps inside a cage at a zoo in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, August 12, 2026. (Reuters)

As children walked into the zoo near Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, they found a lion barely looking back at them through the bars of its cage and chimpanzees sitting listlessly in their enclosure.

Many of the animals were malnourished, weakened by shortages of food, medicine and vaccines. But they were still alive, largely thanks to the efforts of zoo owner Mahmoud Gomaa.

He originally ran the attraction in the southern city of Rafah, but said he had to flee when Israeli troops attacked and occupied part of the area in 2024.

As the conflict raged, he moved the surviving animals from town to town before finding a place in Nuseirat ‌in central Gaza earlier ‌this year.

There, he reopened the zoo, hoping to give traumatized youngsters ‌something ⁠to enjoy after ⁠nearly three years of destruction.

ZOOKEEPER RETURNED TO FIND ANIMAL BONES

"In the beginning of the war people were looking for a way to survive ... and I was looking for a way to save the animals more than saving myself," Gomaa told Reuters.

There were a number of zoos in Gaza before the conflict between Israel and Hamas erupted, displaying exotic and wild animals including lions and eagles, municipal records show.

Anyone trying to keep one open now faces enormous challenges, ⁠vets and animal experts said, not least in getting food in ‌a territory struggling to feed its human population.

"Owners ‌are currently feeding them frozen meat," veterinarian Nidal Fadel said. "This is a catastrophe and a wrong nutritional plan ‌because in nature they eat fresh prey."

Palestinian children play outside a zoo damaged during the war, in Gaza City, August 15, 2026. (Reuters)

The animals themselves are bearing the brunt ‌of the war — sometimes directly.

When Gomaa fled Rafah, he said he had to leave behind three lions, several crocodiles and some African ostriches.

A few months later, Gomaa returned and only found the bones of the crocodiles and the ostriches. Those three lions, which he had locked in their cages, had ‌disappeared.

There is also the trauma caused by the sound and sight of the conflict raging around them.

"Lions can detect sounds and ⁠disturbances that humans may not ⁠notice," said Amir Khalil, a veterinarian who has led several trips to Gaza by the animal welfare organization Four Paws and rescued other zoos' animals.

"Bombing and constant conflict create enormous stress and fear for them," he added.

In Nuseirat, the surviving lion barely looked up at the visitors. But the children had better luck with some of the other animals, letting parrots ride on their shoulders and petting smaller monkeys.

It was a rare chance to relax in an enclave still facing regular airstrikes, despite a fragile ceasefire. Israel's military, which says its attacks are aimed at militant targets, did not immediately respond to questions about the conflict's impact on civilian facilities like zoos and their animals.

"Today there is no avenue for children to play," said visitor Karam Al-Mazin, 42.

"There is nothing except rubble, stones and tents, so children today are bored and are in a difficult situation."

Features

The 60-day Deadline for an Iran Peace Deal is Expiring. Here's Where Things Stand

A woman holds an Iranian flag as part of a pro-government campaign in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman holds an Iranian flag as part of a pro-government campaign in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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The 60-day Deadline for an Iran Peace Deal is Expiring. Here's Where Things Stand

A woman holds an Iranian flag as part of a pro-government campaign in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman holds an Iranian flag as part of a pro-government campaign in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The deal that US President Donald Trump signed at Versailles in June set an ambitious 60-day deadline for ending the war with Iran and reaching an accord on its nuclear program.

The deadline was Monday, and the two sides are further apart than they were then, The Associated Press said.

Talks, such as they are, have focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting a US blockade on Iran, both of which were supposed to have happened under the interim deal. There has been no sign of any compromise on the strait, or that detailed nuclear talks have even begun.

The US, meanwhile, has no good options for getting out of the war it started alongside Israel.

Acceding to Iran's latest demands would mean giving it control over a critical international waterway that carried a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas before the war — and would be tantamount to admitting defeat. Escalating the deeply unpopular war would further draw down US supplies of advanced missile interceptors, jolt the world economy, and drive up gas prices ahead of US congressional elections.

So both sides have dug in, hoping the other will blink first. So far, neither has.

The interim deal collapsed weeks later

The June deal, known as the Memorandum of Understanding, called for a halt to all military operations and set a 60-day deadline for an agreement to permanently end the war and resolve the longstanding dispute over Iran's nuclear activities.

It called for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened but gave Iran a vaguely defined role in facilitating traffic, leaving open the possibility it could charge fees after the 60-day deadline. Iran has seized on that clause to claim control over the waterway.

A week after the deal was signed, Iran began firing on vessels using a route along the coast of Oman, on the other side of the strait, that is overseen by the US military and intended to bypass Tehran's control.

The US responded by striking Iran, which retaliated by attacking Arab countries hosting American forces, like Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain. The US canceled waivers issued as part of the deal that had allowed Iran to sell its oil internationally and Trump restored a blockade of Iran's ports.

Each side accused the other of violating the June agreement, of which almost nothing remains.

The fighting eventually died down. A related truce in Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah has mostly held, even as Israeli troops occupy large areas in the country's south. Lebanon's "territorial integrity and sovereignty" were to have been ensured under the June deal.

Iranian officials say they stopped negotiating with the US in June, while acknowledging that messages have been relayed by intermediaries. Trump says the talks have continued, occasionally claiming progress after pulling back from threatening major strikes.

Pakistan, which played a key role in brokering the June agreement, noted last week that the deadline was Monday while expressing hope it would be extended.

“We are not closing the chapter,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said. “Pakistan is making all-out efforts to bring the two parties to the negotiating table.”

Iran's leaders think they can force Trump to give up the strait

Earlier this month, Iran issued a list of demands for reopening the strait, including the lifting of the American blockade, the withdrawal of US forces from around Iran and the payment of reparations for damage inflicted in the war started by the US and Israel on Feb. 28.

Even then, Iran has said it would control the strait — and potentially charge fees — through an agreement it is negotiating with Oman, and that the strait will not go back to being an open, toll-free waterway as it was before the war.

Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have meanwhile begun attacking oil tankers in the Red Sea, threatening another crucial trade route that had been used to relieve some of the pressure from the strait being closed.

Trump has rejected Iran's demands — saying it's Tehran that should pay war reparations and claiming the US controls the strait. He appears to be banking on economic pressure — in the form of the blockade and longstanding sanctions — to bring Iran's rulers to their knees.

Iran's economy has been battered by the war and isolation, and inflation has soared. The crisis could stoke renewed anti-government protests, like those that were brutally crushed in January.

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which rose immediately after the interim deal, is back to a small fraction of what it was before the war. Rising prices of fuel and other goods are expected to climb further the longer this continues with effects far beyond the Middle East.

The clock is still ticking for both sides.

Features

Battered by War, Iran’s Rulers Wary of More Economic Pain and Unrest if US Tightens Pressure

People walk in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, August 17, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People walk in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, August 17, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Battered by War, Iran’s Rulers Wary of More Economic Pain and Unrest if US Tightens Pressure

People walk in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, August 17, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People walk in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, August 17, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Even as Iran projects resilience in the war with the United States, its leaders are worried that a threat of more economic punishment by Donald Trump could increase hardships, reignite unrest and further erode the regime’s legitimacy.

The US president vowed on Friday to hit Iran hard economically, a day after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would impose measures on Tehran that have "never been seen" as early as next week. Washington has not said what those measures will entail.

For all the bravado of Iran's leaders after holding out in nearly six months of conflict and effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil supply route, they face mounting pressure at home that could result in nationwide unrest, according to three Iranian officials.

The officials, two political insiders, a former Iranian official and a dozen ordinary Iranians spoke to Reuters for this story on condition of anonymity, either for fear of retribution or because they are not authorized to speak to media.

Iran entered the war with high inflation, a weakening currency, energy shortages, sanctions and deep structural weaknesses, and must now contend with damaged infrastructure, disrupted trade, lost production and the cost of rebuilding.

Arshia, a civil engineer, spent a decade working in Iran’s construction industry before the war that began with US and Israeli attacks on February 28 brought projects largely to a standstill.

He is now struggling ‌to find work as ‌projects are delayed or cancelled and costs soar, with little prospect of a rapid recovery.

"I’m worried. If Trump imposes ‌more sanctions, ⁠how will ordinary ⁠people survive? I don’t want my country to be punished militarily or economically. We’re already struggling,” said the father of two from the central city of Isfahan.

His plight reflects a broader reality across Iran, where US strikes damaged factories, power plants, transport networks and other critical infrastructure, adding to pressure on an already strained economy.

Mohsen, 53, was forced to shut his small import-export business with Gulf countries after Iran retaliated against US strikes by targeting American bases and assets in the region.

"I had to lay off 10 employees. It was painful, but I had no choice. I could no longer afford to pay their salaries, and now I’m relying on my savings to support my family," he said from the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.

INFLATION, UNCERTAINTY HIT HOUSEHOLDS

Iran’s annual inflation rate reached 66% in July, while consumer prices were 87.9% higher than a year earlier, according to Iran’s Statistical ⁠Center. Food inflation hit 128% year-on-year.

For Iran’s rulers, the greater threat may be not economic pain itself, but the risk ‌that worsening hardship reignites mass unrest, said the two insiders and one official.

The appointment of Hossein Taeb ‌last week, a key architect of past crackdowns, to lead Iran’s Basij militia is one of the clearest signs yet of growing concern over a resurgence of unrest, a former reformist ‌official said.

The Basij, a paramilitary volunteer militia, is affiliated with Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards, which have both been used by the clerical rulers to quell protests.

Economic ‌grievances have repeatedly spilled into nationwide protests in Iran in recent years.

In January, nationwide protests over economic hardships were crushed by the IRGC and the Basij force, with thousands killed.

In recent months, Iran’s clerical rulers have responded to fears of renewed unrest with executions, arrests, summonses and lengthy prison sentences targeting journalists, lawyers, activists, human rights advocates and students, rights groups say.

Officials say the measures are needed to maintain stability during wartime. Critics say they could deepen the divide between the clerical establishment and a public frustrated by rising economic pressures.

SALARY 'GONE WITHIN DAYS'

Families are cutting ‌back on meat and other staples, opting for cheaper alternatives.

"I’m ashamed in front of my children. My salary is gone within days. Meat and chicken have disappeared from our table. I have no idea how we’re going to ⁠get by," said Hossein, a government employee in ⁠the central city of Yazd.

Rents rose 31% year-on-year in March, according to the Statistical Centre, while state media reported Tehran housing prices at roughly 50% above last year.

Iran’s minimum wage was raised by about 60% this year, but continued rial depreciation has eroded purchasing power, with the dollar value of the minimum wage falling from about $105 to $86 since late March.

Bijan, 40, earned about $1,000 a month as an engineer when he entered the job market 15 years ago. He has since turned to online tutoring to make ends meet. Now, he and his wife struggle to make about $400 a month and have left Tehran for a cheaper province.

"I used to work maybe five or six hours a day ... Now, it’s all work or looking for work, or feeling anxious about not having enough work," said Bijan.

For many Iranians, fear of renewed conflict has made planning for the future increasingly difficult.

US NAVAL BLOCKADE RATCHETS UP COSTS

Iran has sought to keep essential goods moving through alternative routes, including land corridors and the Caspian Sea, but those alternatives are also coming under strain.

Strikes on bridges have disrupted overland transport, increasing the cost and time needed to move goods into Iran.

President Masoud Pezeshkian last week acknowledged the squeeze, saying: “Our problems have multiplied several times over, while our income has also fallen.”

Goods that once arrived by ship now take longer routes into Iran, driving up prices, he said, adding that Iran is selling less oil and collecting less tax revenue from damaged or struggling businesses.

The blockade has also effectively cut off Iran’s gasoline imports, lawmaker Reza Sepahvand told Iran's ILNA news agency on Saturday, adding that Iran’s daily gasoline output had reached its limit at about 130 million liters, compared with consumption of 137 million liters.