The Ramadan news slowdown is upon us, blessing us with a relatively quiet morning for Egypt in the foreign press. Perhaps the only Egypt-related story worth noting is

Worth a read is this New York Times piece looking at how the Trump administration’s stance on the Ikhwan and Libya has shifted under pressure from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. According to the Gray Lady, US President Donald Trump had been mulling designating the Ikhwan as a terrorist group within days of assuming the presidency, but was reined in by former advisors such as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. El Sisi, the newspaper says, “found himself pushing on an open door” when he urged Trump to revive the move when the two met last month at the White House.

Elsewhere, Egypt’s decision to turn down Trump’s so-called “Arab NATO” is dissected in this Modern Diplomacy story in which Mohamed Maher says the decision was due to regional tensions, differing priorities, and a lack of formal structure.