Rubio Releases $320 Million in Military Aid to Egypt Despite Rights Conditions

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has waived a congressional restriction on $320 million in military aid to Egypt that had been held back over human rights concerns, the State Department announced on Thursday, citing Cairo’s role in the war with Iran.

The money is foreign military financing, which Egypt uses to buy weapons made in the United States, and it is part of roughly $1.3 billion in economic and military assistance Washington provides the country each year, according to NBC News and Euronews, which drew on reporting by the Associated Press.

The State Department said the waiver served United States national security and recognized the security cooperation Egypt provides amid regional threats. In a letter to lawmakers, Rubio pointed to Egypt’s helpful role in the conflict with Iran, now more than seven months old. Egypt has served as a key mediator between Washington and Tehran in efforts to end the fighting, both outlets reported.

Congress wrote the condition into law because of Egypt’s human rights record. The State Department’s own reporting has cited credible accounts of torture, arbitrary arrest, child labor and severe restrictions on freedom of expression in the country. The department said the administration would continue to raise human rights concerns with Egyptian officials across the full range of the relationship.

Neither party has been willing to let the condition bite for long. Waivers of the restriction have become routine under Republican and Democratic administrations alike. The Biden administration issued its most recent one in September 2024, citing Egypt’s help in seeking an end to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The administration’s case is straightforward and carries weight: Egypt, the most populous Arab country and a longtime security partner, is helping the United States find a way out of a costly war, and withholding aid now could weaken a channel to Tehran that few other governments can offer.

Human rights advocates have long argued the opposite, that routine waivers turn congressional conditions into a formality and signal to Cairo that its treatment of critics carries no real cost. The tension between security interests and human rights has shaped American policy toward Egypt for decades, and Thursday’s decision suggests that, in wartime, the balance has tipped firmly toward security.

The decision comes as Washington leans heavily on regional partners in the conflict with Iran, which has disrupted shipping and pushed fuel prices sharply higher around the world.