Source: Carnegie Middle East Center
Author(s): Yasser El-Shimy
Original Link: https://carnegie-mec.org/2018/05/18/middle-east-s-new-battle-lines-pub-76402
Riyadh and its Gulf allies view Cairo as a pivotal security partner. With the largest – and, arguably, most effective – standing military in the Arab world, Egypt has offered to become the ultimate bulwark of Gulf Arab national security. At a time when the Saudis and the Emiratis are focused on checking the expansion of Iranian and Sunni Islamist influence across the Middle East, the offer forms part of an opportunistic policy designed to guarantee inflows of Gulf aid. But, while it has provided wide-ranging support for the campaign against Sunni Islamists and their state sponsors, Cairo has refrained from substantive commitments to a dangerous confrontation with Iran.
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