Trump Signals ‘Very Close’ Peace Deal with Egypt Travel Plan

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As US President Donald Trump hints at a Gaza peace breakthrough, Cairo extends an invitation for him to attend a potential signing ceremony.

By TRH Foreign Affairs Desk

New Delhi, October 9, 2025— In classic Trumpian fashion, the moment came not through a carefully staged diplomatic announcement, but via a note slipped across a White House podium.

“I was just given a note by the Secretary of State saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East,” President Donald Trump told reporters, holding up the paper handed to him by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “They’re going to need me pretty quickly,” he added, before casually announcing that he may be heading to Egypt this weekend.

The businessman-turned-president said he could travel “either before the captives are released or shortly thereafter,” teasing what he called a “very close” Gaza ceasefire agreement. “I have to go now to try and solve some problems in the Middle East,” he said, before exiting the event—leaving reporters shouting questions about details he didn’t offer.

A Possible Cairo Moment

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, in turn, extended a formal invitation for Trump to attend the signing ceremony of a potential Gaza peace deal in Cairo, once an agreement is finalized. “It would be wonderful to have you here,” El-Sisi said, praising Trump’s “strong will” to end the Gaza war.

Sources in Cairo told Al Arabiya English that Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, have already arrived in Egypt to join the ongoing negotiations between Egyptian, Israeli, and Palestinian representatives.

The potential deal, tentatively framed as part of the “Trump Peace Plan for Gaza,” seeks to secure a durable ceasefire, humanitarian access, and a roadmap toward reconstruction—a political prize that would allow Trump to reclaim a central role in Middle East diplomacy.

Optimism Meets Old Obstacles

Yet, as Al Jazeera noted, “nothing’s firm yet.” The channel’s correspondents cautioned that “there’s still a lot of talking and technical work to be done.” While Trump’s team appears confident that “Peace for the Middle East” is within reach, observers warn against premature celebration.

Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas told Al Jazeera that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has no genuine interest in advancing the so-called Trump peace plan in Gaza,” arguing that his focus remains on “political survival rather than long-term peace.”

Such skepticism underscores the fragility of the moment. Two years of intermittent ceasefire efforts have faltered on questions of demilitarization, humanitarian aid access, and political guarantees for Gaza’s governance after conflict.

Trump’s Bid for a Legacy

For Trump, however, the optics are irresistible. To be photographed in Cairo, pen in hand at a signing table beside El-Sisi, would be a symbolic resurrection of the kind of world-stage diplomacy that once defined US presidents. “It’s something I think will happen,” Trump said. “We have a great team over there, great negotiators, and unfortunately, great negotiators on the other side also,” he added.

In a world still scarred by cycles of mistrust and retaliation, Trump’s announcement—part performance, part promise—feels like both a throwback and a provocation: a reminder that in diplomacy, as in politics, timing and theatre matter as much as truth.

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