Egypt has reacted with anger and confusion after being listed in a new US State Department advisory that urged American citizens to leave much of the Middle East amid escalating hostilities between the United States, Israel, and Iran.
The advisory, published on Monday, warned Americans to “depart now” from 14 Arab nations including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt due to “serious safety risks”.
It came two days after the US and Israel began launching strikes on Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate with hundreds of missiles and drones at regional neighbours.
While the US advisory cited a lower risk level in Egypt – level 2, requiring Americans to “exercise increased caution” – than in other countries, it nevertheless stirred public frustration in a country that prides itself on its relative stability amid regional turmoil.
Public outcry and disbelief
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry issued the first government comment on the advisory on Wednesday, saying it has been in continuous contact with Western partners to clarify the country’s security situation and stress that Egypt remains stable and safe.
The ministry said it had intensified its diplomatic outreach with “friendly and partner Western states” in recent days to underline that there was no need to adjust existing travel guidance on Egypt.
According to the statement, these efforts have helped preserve the current travel advisory levels issued by several countries, including the United States, Canada, and Ireland.
Users flooded Egyptian social media with posts expressing both anger and bemusement that Washington would include Cairo on any warning list at all.
"When you’re in Egypt you never have to look up at the sky and wonder which country’s war plane is flying in the sky, all the war planes that fly here are Egyptian,” one widely circulated post on X said.
For many, the decision appeared at odds with US President Donald Trump’s comments last June, when he unveiled an expanded travel ban targeting 12 nations, including Iran, Yemen, and Sudan, but notably excluding Egypt.
At the time, Mr Trump praised Cairo as a close American ally that had, in his words, “things under control”, contrasting Egypt’s stability with what he described as the security failures of other Middle Eastern states.
Tour operators and business owners told The National on Tuesday that they fear the new classification could scare away much‑needed visitors just as the winter tourism season approaches.
“We were contacted by the Chambers of Tourism with a new protocol to report both cancellations and stranded tour groups,” said Mohamed Yassin, who runs a travel company near the Giza Plateau.
“Eighty per cent of my bookings for the next three months are gone already. We don’t expect to see American tourists again for some time.”
American residents question logic
Among the tens of thousands of American citizens living in Egypt, reactions have ranged from surprise to dismissal. Julia P, a doctoral researcher who has spent five years in Cairo studying an ancient cemetery near the Giza pyramids, said she first heard of the advisory from worried relatives in the US.
“I got a series of messages and everyone was concerned. At first I said ‘what the hell are you talking about?’, then I looked into it and saw the State Department’s notice and initially I laughed,” she told The National.
“My initial feeling was that the administration had just lumped all these Arab countries together even though their conditions differed significantly. But as far as I am concerned, I do not feel like I am threatened at the moment, I feel quite safe. More importantly, I am afraid for my friends and colleagues who are in Bahrain, Lebanon and Iraq.”
She explained that in her expat circle, people “felt more at risk during the Gazan genocide” than they do now.
Government and pro‑state response
Officials have sought to project calm. Egypt’s national carrier Egyptair announced it would refund or rebook tickets without penalty for passengers affected by continuing disruptions to regional airspace for dates up to March 15, citing “traveller flexibility during exceptional circumstances”.
Speaking at a military iftar earlier this week, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi reiterated his government’s commitment to internal stability despite rising prices and heightened anxiety across the region.
“Nobody can touch this country,” he declared, adding that Egypt would continue to safeguard its security and prevent regional conflict “from spilling on to our soil”.
On state‑affiliated television, local commentators echoed his defiance.
During a segment hosted by pro‑government broadcaster Ahmed Moussa on Tuesday night, US‑based academic Gabriel Sawma, a member of Mr Trump’s Advisory Board for Middle East Affairs, explained that the view in Washington at the moment is that all the countries in the region are in danger right now.
He cited Iran’s unprecedented attacks on Gulf oil infrastructure and civilian areas as a big reason why the State Department is concerned for US citizens in the region.
Washington’s perspective
However, in Washington, officials have stressed that the advisories are purely precautionary. The State Department said it was co-ordinating evacuation logistics from Gulf countries where commercial flights were no longer available.
In a media note issued on Tuesday, the State Department said, “in the past several days, over 9,000 American citizens have safely returned from the Middle East, including over 300 from Israel”.
“Commercial aviation options remain available in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, and Egypt, and the Department is actively helping American citizens book those tickets.”
It is estimated that between half a million and one million American nationals live in Middle Eastern countries. Because US nationals are not required by law to register their whereabouts when they leave the country, exact numbers are hard to come by.
Economic ripple concerns
Furthermore, tourism operators warn that even a temporary downgrade of confidence could hurt a sector still recovering from years of global downturn and inflation.
Egypt’s tourism industry, which contributes roughly a tenth of GDP, relies heavily on Western visitors and has previously been sensitive to security advisories.
For now, the government is signaling business as usual. The Tourism Ministry has yet to issue a formal comment, but private companies say they are bracing for short‑term shock waves.
“The main problem isn’t safety, it’s perception,” said Mr Yassin, the travel company operator near Giza. “As soon as people see Egypt mentioned on an alert list, they cancel and wait a while before reconsidering their trips.”
Aside from the tourism cancellations, the shock waves of the war in Iran have already started to hit the Egyptian economy with the local currency losing value and a wave of foreign capital exits.
However, the overall feeling in Cairo at the present time is one of gratitude. Many Egyptians take solace that even though their food might get more expensive, their country remains an island of relative calm amid regional upheaval.
