US waives human rights conditions on $320 million of Egypt aid

The US State Department said on Thursday it has waived human rights conditions for more than $300 million of military aid to Egypt, citing Cairo's helpful role since the launch of the US war with Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the determination to waive the certification requirement on $320 million in fiscal year 2025 Foreign Military Financing for Egypt.reuters.com+1

The waiver matters because a portion of US aid to Egypt is subject to human rights and democracy-related conditions that can be waived on national-security grounds. What is new is that the certification requirement on this $320 million portion has been waived outright, releasing funds that had been withheld over Egypt's human rights record.euronews.com

What the waiver covers

A letter addressed to various congressional committees, dated September 21, stated that Rubio had made the determination to waive the certification requirement with respect to $320 million in fiscal year 2025 Foreign Military Financing for Egypt. The waiver was later confirmed by the State Department. An accompanying memo dated September 4, bearing Rubio's signature, justified the decision.

The memo said the portion of military aid was deemed necessary for counterterrorism, border security, or nonproliferation programs, or otherwise important to the national security interest of the United States. It stated that exercising the waiver authority was essential for the US-Egypt relationship and US national security priorities, particularly in light of Egypt's helpful role following Operation Epic Fury.

Operation Epic Fury is the name used by the US military for the campaign against Iran launched alongside Israel in late February. The State Department memo did not elaborate on what it called Egypt's helpful role. Egypt has been a key mediator between the US and Iran in efforts to wind down the more than seven-month-long conflict, according to the State Department's account.

Where the numbers came from

The $320 million is part of an annual US contribution of $1.3 billion in economic and military assistance to Egypt. More specifically, the funds are for foreign military financing, which provides money for recipient nations to purchase US-produced weaponry. Egypt started to get significant US support after signing a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 and has received about $1.3 billion a year in US military aid since the late 1980s.

Granting a waiver to Egypt has become routine for both Republican and Democratic administrations. The Biden administration last issued a waiver in September 2024, citing Egypt's assistance in US efforts to bring an end to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. In 2024, following the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel and the resulting war in Gaza, the Biden administration overrode the human rights conditions and granted the full $1.3 billion allocation to Egypt for the first time in his administration.

How the aid has been withheld before

Under Biden, the US withheld portions of the annual military allocation multiple times over Egypt's human-rights record. Hundreds of millions of dollars in cash assistance, as well as tanks, helicopters, missiles and fighter aircraft, were held back after Egypt's army ousted the country's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Mursi, amid mass protests in 2013.

Rights groups have long accused Egypt of widespread human rights abuses under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, including torture and enforced disappearances. The State Department itself in recent years has pointed to credible reports of torture, arbitrary arrest, child labour and severe restrictions on freedom of expression. Congress inserted the requirement over concerns about Egypt's human rights record.

A State Department spokesman said Rubio had waived the certification in the interest of US security and that the US continues to engage with the Egyptian government on a range of issues. The department said the Trump administration would continue to raise human rights matters as part of its dialogue with Egypt on the full range of issues in the bilateral relationship.

Rights groups' record on Egypt

The spillover from the Iran war has imposed a high cost on US security partners, including Egypt, which has seen its economy tested by surging fuel prices and other disruptions. Egypt's Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment on the waiver. This week Egyptian police arrested six journalists from a fact-checking and investigative media outlet, accusing them of spreading misinformation on behalf of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, which the publication denied.