Archive · 2 Oct 2026
US Waives Egypt Military Aid Rights Conditions Citing Iran War
The United States gives Egypt a large amount of military aid each year.
Some of that money normally depends on Egypt meeting human-rights and democracy conditions.
The US has now waived those conditions for $320 million in fiscal 2025 aid.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the decision was important for US security.
A US memo praised Egypt’s helpful role after the US military campaign against Iran called Operation Epic Fury.
The memo did not say exactly what Egypt did.
Egypt has previously had parts of its aid withheld because of human-rights concerns.
Rights groups continue to accuse the government of abuses.
The decision shows that security cooperation can sometimes take priority over conditions tied to human rights.
The US waived human-rights certification requirements for $320 million in Egypt’s fiscal 2025 military financing.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the waiver supports US national-security interests and the US-Egypt security relationship.
A State Department memo cited Egypt’s “helpful role” after Operation Epic Fury, but did not explain that role.
Egypt has received about $1.3 billion annually in US military aid since the late 1980s.
The decision comes amid longstanding criticism of Egypt’s human-rights record and previous US withholding of aid.
- Who
- The US State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the Egyptian government are involved.
- What
- The United States waived human-rights certification requirements for $320 million in fiscal 2025 military financing for Egypt.
- When
- The waiver was documented in a September 21 letter and confirmed by the State Department on October 1; the accompanying memo was dated September 4.
- Where
- The decision was made by the US State Department and concerned US military aid to Egypt; reporting came from Cairo, Washington, and Istanbul.
- Why
- The State Department said the waiver was needed for US national security, security cooperation, and regional priorities after Operation Epic Fury.
Security and Strategic Cooperation
Human-Rights Conditions
Reason for waiving conditions
Security and Strategic Cooperation
The State Department says maintaining security cooperation with Egypt is important during significant regional security challenges and cited Egypt’s helpful role after Operation Epic Fury.
Human-Rights Conditions
Critics argue that removing conditions reduces US leverage over Egypt’s human-rights record, which has led to aid being withheld in the past.
Assessment of Egypt’s conduct
Security and Strategic Cooperation
US officials characterized Egypt’s role as sufficiently important to national security to justify the waiver.
Human-Rights Conditions
Rights groups cite alleged torture and enforced disappearances, while Egyptian police recently arrested six journalists accused of spreading misinformation, an allegation the outlet denied.
US aid policy
Security and Strategic Cooperation
The waiver follows earlier decisions, including the Biden administration’s release of the full $1.3 billion allocation in 2024 amid the Gaza war and regional security concerns.
Human-Rights Conditions
The withholding of portions of aid under the Biden administration reflected continuing concerns about Egypt’s human-rights record.
- Waived amount
- $320 million in fiscal 2025 Foreign Military Financing
- Decision-maker
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
- Recipient
- Egypt
- Annual US military aid
- About $1.3 billion since the late 1980s
- Stated justification
- Counterterrorism, border security, nonproliferation, and broader US national-security interests
- Referenced operation
- Operation Epic Fury, the US military name for the campaign against Iran launched alongside Israel in late February
- Human-rights context
- Rights groups accuse Egypt of widespread abuses, while Egyptian authorities say they have taken steps to address rights