Trump mentioned Suez Canal 'free passage' plan to Sisi earlier in April: report

US President Donald Trump proposed to allow US commercial and military vessels free passage through the Suez Canal in a conversation with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi earlier on 1 April, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

Trump said on Saturday that US military and commercial vessels should be allowed to pass through the Suez and Panama canals without paying any fees. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump added: "I have asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take this matter up immediately."

A high-ranking diplomatic source in Cairo told The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site that the remarks were not the first time the president had made the suggestion.

The diplomat explained that the proposal was forwarded by the US president as a form of compensation for America's airstrikes against the Houthis, who have obstructed shipping in the Red Sea and negatively impacted Suez Canal revenues.

President Sisi estimated that Egypt suffered losses of around $7 billion last year due to regional instability and threats to international trade routes, and in December said that Suez Canal revenues had dropped by more than 60 percent.

Another Egyptian diplomatic source, based at the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, also confirmed that Trump had mentioned the proposal during a call with Sisi. The source said that Sisi did not entertain the proposal, focusing discussions on Israel's war on Gaza and regional stability instead.

The source added that it is expected that Trump will persist in seeking concessions from Egypt in relation to the anti-Houthi campaign, with Gulf states also expected to face similar demands.

Egypt favours diplomatic solutions over military ones to resolve the Red Sea crisis, the source said, highlighting Cairo's mediation efforts with the Houthis in recent months.

Trump's remarks on the Suez Canal have provoked anger and ridicule in Egypt, where the government has yet to give an official response.

"Trump says that without America, there would be no Suez Canal. Based on what, exactly? When Egyptians dug the Suez Canal between 1859 and 1869, the U.S. was still in its infancy," said Egyptian MP Mostafa Bakry on X.

In a separate post, Bakry — who is known to have ties to Egypt's security services — continued: "On what basis does Trump demand free passage for U.S. commercial and military vessels through the Suez Canal? In my view, it’s nothing but American thuggery and an attempt to extort a sovereign state."

"This is outright theft and an attempt to impose tribute on an independent country that is a member of the United Nations. Mr. Trump, we are not a banana republic, nor are we a new U.S. state. I warned just days ago that what's happening in the Red Sea and Yemen isn’t really about the Houthis or supporting Yemeni legitimacy—it’s about militarising the Red Sea and controlling it, especially the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Trump has just confirmed that," the post continued. 

This article is based on an Arabic-language report from al-Araby al-Jadeed.