Araghchi and Egyptian counterpart discuss de-escalation

TEHRAN — Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi discussed efforts to reduce tensions and preserve regional stability with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, according to a post on Telegram by Al Jazeera Arabic. The post cited the Iranian Foreign Ministry. The date of the call was given as 18 October 2026.

The Telegram post did not give further details of the conversation. Neither Iran's Foreign Ministry nor Egypt's Foreign Ministry has published a statement on the call in the sources reviewed. Al Jazeera Arabic's post is unverified, and the account of the discussion rests on that single report.

Separately, Middle East Eye reported that Abdelatty discussed regional developments and the importance of de-escalation in a phone call with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. Abdelatty said in a social media post, according to Middle East Eye. That call is a separate contact and is not part of the Iranian report. Middle East Eye's report did not mention Iran.

Middle East Eye also said Egypt's parliament had postponed a vote on authorising military support for Saudi Arabia amid ongoing Houthi attacks. The sources reviewed do not say whether that vote is linked to the diplomatic contacts with Iran or Saudi Arabia.

It is not known from the sources whether Araghchi and Abdelatty have spoken before, or whether the call with Iran was a phone call or a meeting. No specific steps on de-escalation were reported.

Background

Egypt and Iran have had diplomatic contacts in recent years, and Araghchi has held the Iranian foreign minister post during that period. The sources reviewed do not provide further background on the current contacts.

Houthi attacks are ongoing in the region, according to Middle East Eye. The sources reviewed do not describe the scale or location of the attacks.