Alwaght- Egypt has pulled out of the US effort to forge an “Arab NATO” with key Arab allies in a blow to the Trump's regime anti-Iran strategy.
Egypt has decided to withdraw from US-led initiative to create a strategic alliance with key Arab allies, known as Middle East Security Alliance (MESA), Reuters reported Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Also known as "Arab NATO," the alliance is supposed to include Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar. Egypt, however, has reportedly decided to pull out from the group over fears of damaging its relations with Iran, the sources said.
Additionally, the sources said Egyptian authorities were partially motivated by uncertainty over President Trump's re-election and whether his successor would scrap the entire initiative — just like Trump himself scrapped the Iranian Nuclear Deal.
Egypt's decision is a major blow on Trump's anti-Iran strategy whose main regional backers are the Saudi and Israeli regimes.
The initiative, proposed by Saudi Arabia back in 2017 was supported by the hawkish US National Security Advisor John Bolton.
Interestingly, the report comes just one day after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi visited the White House.
