Regional diplomacy shifts as Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia meet

Foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey huddle in El Alamein, while Iraq seeks Saudi ties and Iran threatens Hormuz.

Regional diplomacy shifts as Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia meet — In the Egyptian coastal city of El Alamein, foreign ministers Badr Abdelatty of Egypt, Hakan Fidan of Turkey, and Faisal bin Farhan of Saudi Arabia met yesterday (Thursday) to discuss regional developments[^1]. The meeting follows the joint defense agreement signed last week by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan in Mecca, and Turkey has called on Egypt to join that pact — a step Cairo is reportedly examining for its legal and constitutional aspects[^1]. The gathering signals a reordering of regional alignments, with Cairo weighing a formal security commitment even as it navigates its own ties with Washington. Iraq is moving in a parallel direction. A high-level Iraqi security delegation, led by Abdul-Amir al-Shammari, arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday to discuss security files[^2]. This comes as Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi pushes a new law to place militia arms under state control, a move opposed by the powerful Badr Organization[^2]. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which includes several Iran-aligned factions, claimed more than 750 attacks on US forces during a six-week war from February 28 to mid-April[^2]. Baghdad's outreach to Riyadh suggests an attempt to balance Tehran's influence, though the domestic political cost remains unclear. Meanwhile, Iran's rhetoric sharpened. A field commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy told the newspaper Al-Akhbar that Iran had been ready for years to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 14-15 million barrels of oil pass daily — less than the 20 million before the war[^3]. He threatened that if the US seizes the Iranian islands, "they will become their cemeteries," and the response will be unprecedented[^3]. The threat comes as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans to impose unprecedented economic isolation on Iran, saying "the world has never seen this"[^4]. The gap between Iranian bravado and US economic pressure is widening, with no clear off-ramp. The diplomatic choreography is not limited to the Gulf. US President Donald Trump was smuggled from the presidential plane to another plane during a visit to a NATO sum