Iran's Foreign Ministry appeared on Monday to stop short of directly criticizing Egypt over its deployment of fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates, with spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei choosing language that, on at least one reading, amounted to a broad rejection of foreign interference in the Gulf—though what exactly he meant to signal remained, perhaps deliberately, open to interpretation.
Baghaei’s comments at a press conference on May 11 were reported by the state news agency IRNA. Al Manassa was unable to access a full recording of the conference and has relied on IRNA’s coverage across three versions: Farsi, Arabic, and English. While the Arabic report appears to be a close translation of the Farsi original, the English version is a notably condensed summary that omits a key phrase: the rejection of foreign intervention “regardless of which actor” carries it out. The absence of this phrase in English could reframe Baghaei’s remarks about regional security as a pointed comment toward Egypt.
According to IRNA’s reporting, Baghaei said, “Our relations with Egypt are based on mutual respect. There are continuous contacts between the foreign ministers of the two countries regarding bilateral and regional relations. What pertains to the security and stability of the region relates exclusively to the regional countries.”
He reportedly continued, “In principle, it is our position that we reject any intervention that undermines regional security and undermines regional trust, regardless of which actor takes this action. Regional security must be achieved by regional countries, and by strengthening collective trust between regional countries. This is the kind of security that can truly be relied upon. The developments of the last 60 days have shown that security relying on the presence of foreign forces in the region will only exacerbate insecurity and will not benefit our region in any way.”
What those words mean in practice is not straightforward. On one reading, Baghaei was carefully managing the bilateral relationship: he opened and closed with diplomatic language about mutual respect and ongoing ministerial contacts, and stopped well short of naming Egypt as a threat.
The phrase “foreign forces” and the condemnation of outside “intervention” carry a specific resonance in Iranian political discourse—they are terms almost always deployed against the United States and Israel, which could suggest Egypt is not the intended target at all.
However, Baghaei’s condemnation was modulated by that key addendum omitted in the English summary: “regardless of which actor takes this action.” It may suggest that Tehran, without saying so explicitly, is reserving the right to treat Egypt’s military presence in the UAE, or any possible future escalation, as a hostile act. Whether the statement amounts to a criticism of what Egypt has already done, or a warning about what it must not do next, was left deliberately unclear.
Baghaei’s comments came days after the UAE Ministry of Defense confirmed on May 7 that Egypt had deployed a contingent of Dassault Rafale F3R fighters to assist Emirati defensive operations against Iranian drone and missile attacks. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi visited Abu Dhabi the same day and jointly inspected the Egyptian fighter detachment alongside UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, declaring that “what affects the Emirates affects Egypt.”
Despite the pointed diplomatic backdrop, high-level contacts between Tehran and Cairo appear to be continuing. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty spoke on Sunday, discussing regional developments and the ongoing Iran–US diplomatic contacts, indirectly mediated by Pakistan.
The head of Iran’s Interests Section in Egypt, Mojtaba Ferdowsi, had earlier sought to soften the optics of Egypt’s Gulf deployment. Ferdowsi declared that Tehran does not oppose the move, and that Cairo is “free in its decisions” as a substantial regional power. Iran’s main concern, he added, is only for Egypt not to be drawn into any action in support of Israel. He stressed Tehran’s broader rejection of what he described as “imported security” brought in from outside the region.
