Egypt’s FM Abdelatty says ‘there is opportunity’ for U.S.-Iran negotiations

CAIRO – 16 April 2026: Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty stated on Thursday that there is an opportunity for ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran. He noted that the first round of negotiations was "very important as the highest level of dialogue between the United States and Iran in decades," and expressed hope for a "second round of direct negotiations."

In an interview with CBS News, Minister Abdelatty said his visit to Washington is a testament to Egypt’s strategic relationship with the United States.

“We are doing our maximum efforts in cooperation with our regional and international partners—above all the United States, of course—in order to promote dialogue and diplomacy,” the Minister said regarding developments in U.S.-Iran negotiations.

He noted that Egypt hopes for a resumption of talks between the United States and Iran to work out remaining pending issues. “Those pending issues, we believe that we can deal with them and hopefully will be bridgeable.”

Regarding the current Iranian regime, Minister Abdelatty said that "Iranians have their own regime, their own system; we cannot intervene on that. But we sense that there is a willingness in order to give opportunity for diplomacy and to try to reach compromises on the existing pending issues related mainly to the nuclear file. So, we hope that will work."

The Egyptian official announced that Turkey will host a meeting on Friday for the "Quad"—comprising Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt—to coordinate efforts to push for the resumption of direct talks and the promotion of diplomacy.

On freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, Minister Abdelatty affirmed that Egypt stands firmly by the principle. “This is extremely important. This is a principle all countries should abide by. We cannot have any country block international waterways. Egypt has the Suez Canal, and this is very crucial to international trade. Of course, we are pushing for securing the freedom of navigation, and we are confident that easing tension and de-escalating will lead to compromises.”

Regarding the situation in Gaza, the Minister said Egypt is exerting extensive efforts to implement the second phase of President Trump's peace plan.

“Since the hosting of the Sharm El-Sheikh summit meeting last October, Egypt has been working day and night in order to implement the 20 points of President Trump's peace plan, which is very crucial,” Minister Abdelatty stated.

“We are commending President Trump as a man of peace to continue following the implementation of the second phase of this peace plan. This is very crucial. Without President Trump, without the American administration, we cannot move forward. It was President Trump who put an end to the Israeli attacks and aggressions on Gaza,” he added.

Abdelatty also noted that a delegation from Hamas has visited Cairo three times in the last few weeks and that the High Representative, Nikolai Mladenov, met with Hamas representatives in Cairo.

“We are pushing very hard. We gave them a proposal for decommissioning in phases—to start with heavy weapons and end with light weapons in a timeframe. Parallel to that, Israel should withdraw from Gaza because they are still occupying 51% of Gaza,” the Minister revealed.

He stressed that "we don't have to let the current focus on Iran divert attention from what's happening in Gaza and, above all, what's happening in the West Bank." He described Israeli practices in the West Bank as “beyond imagination with regard to the violence of settlers, settlement activities, and confiscation of lands.”