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Egypt has not been asked by Arab states to intervene militarily to help them fend off Iran's attacks, according to Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.
Speaking to reporters and diplomats on Tuesday night, Mr Abdelatty warned that the entire region was on the cusp of "exploding" because of the fallout from the Iran war, now in its third week.
Mr Abdelatty this week toured the Gulf region, taking a message of solidarity and support to the leaders of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Jordan - five of the nations that, along with Bahrain and Kuwait, have been fending off Iranian drone and missile attacks since Israel and the US began striking Iran on February 28.
Gulf Arab states and Jordan have intercepted thousands of Iranian drones and missiles since the start of the war, which has sent oil prices soaring. Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz pushed prices higher and is disrupting global supply chains.
"Egypt had not received any requests from our brotherly Arab states in the Gulf to intervene militarily in the ongoing conflict," Mr Abdelatty said.
The Egyptian minister did not make clear whether he was referring to all six members of the Gulf Co-operation Council or to specific nations in that area.
His comments appeared to be in response to a flood of social media posts berating Egypt for not rushing to the help of the Gulf Arab states that are subjected to Iranian attacks and which have been Cairo's main financial benefactors for decades.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has frequently stated that the Gulf region's security and stability was an integral part of Egypt's own national security has fuelled the online campaign against Cairo's inaction.
"Egypt is continuing its efforts and role to stop the blatant attacks on the brotherly nations and to stop the war. The war's continuation means more cost and no one can endure this situation for long," Mr Abdelatty said.
"The situation is very difficult and the entire region is on the cusp of exploding."
He said Egypt was using its ties with the US and major international powers to stop the war.
He did not elaborate, but Mr El Sisi has said Cairo was doing everything it could to mediate an end to the war.
The Egyptian President and Mr Abdelatty have been heading a diplomatic drive to end the war, consulting over the telephone with scores of Arab and western leaders and officials.
The Iran war and its potential to alter the balance of power in the Middle East poses a dilemma for Egypt, the most populous Arab state with nearly 109 million people and an army rated as the region's strongest.
While Egypt's relations with Israel have been fraught with tension since the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023, relations between Mr El Sisi and US President Donald Trump have grown close, with the pair routinely expressing deep admiration for each other.
Cairo has refrained from direct criticism of the US over its war on Iran because it is looking to Mr Trump to resolve issues of strategic significance to Egypt, such as the implementation of the US leader's Gaza peace plan, its bitter water dispute with Ethiopia and ending the civil war in Sudan.
A Washington ally for close to 50 years, Egypt receives $1.3 billion annually in US military aid and relies on White House support when seeking financial bailouts from international organisations.
Egypt and Iran have meanwhile recently ended a prolonged period of tension dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when Cairo angered the country's new clerical leadership by giving asylum to the deposed shah.
Relations deteriorated further when Iran glorified the main assassin of president Anwar Sadat in 1981 by naming a Tehran street after him.
However, Egypt has not restored full diplomatic relations with Iran despite high-level consultations between the two regional powerhouses. Its reluctance to do so is widely considered an act of solidarity with Gulf Arab allies who oppose Tehran's perceived meddling in Arab affairs.
Egypt and Gulf Arab states on the other hand are bound by historically close political and economic ties, with millions of Egyptians working and living in the oil-rich region.
The Gulf Arab states have repeatedly come to the rescue of Egypt's often ailing economy to prevent its meltdown, giving bailout packages worth billions of dollars in investments, loans, grants, oil gifts and central bank deposits over the past decade alone.
