Democratic senator blames Egypt press crackdown on Trump military aid decision

Washington sends Egypt £1.3bn ($1.73bn) per year, making it one of the world's biggest recipients of US military assistance.

US law allows up to £320m of the funding to be withheld, conditioned on Egypt meeting democracy and human rights requirements. But these restrictions can be waived by the administration on national security grounds.

In September, Secretary of State Marco Rubio waived human rights conditions on $320m of military aid in light of Egypt's role since the launch of the US war with Iran, according to a letter addressed to various Congressional committees. Egypt assisted negotiations between the US and Iran.