Special to WorldTribune.com

President Barack Obama on March 31 ended the 18-month U.S. arms embargo against Egypt in order to support a regional effort to contain the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL).

The decision marks a diplomatic victory for Egyptian President Abdul Fatah Sisi who won broad support from the Gulf Arab states, the United States and Israel after toppling Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi from power in 2013.

[Related: Egypt’s Sisi faces growing pressure from jihadists, Obama administration, March 12.]

Egypt can now take delivery of 12 F-16 multi-role fighters, 125 M1A1 main battle tanks and 20 Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

The White House said Obama notified Sisi in a phone call that the suspension was lifted. The White House said it would continue to request $1.3 billion in military assistance for Egypt and that Egypt will remain the second-largest recipient of U.S. foreign military financing.

White House spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said the U.S. is not issuing a certification that Egypt has made progress toward democracy. Instead, she said, the decision was made in the interests of U.S. national security.

Obama, during his call, “explained that these and other steps will help refine our military assistance relationship so that it is better positioned to address the shared challenges to U.S. and Egyptian interests in an unstable region, consistent with the longstanding strategic partnership between our two countries.”

“We will continue to engage with Egypt frankly and directly on its political trajectory and to raise human rights and political reform issues at the highest levels,” Meehan said.

The aid comes as Arab nations have openly expressed concerns that Washington’s negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program sends signals the U.S. is aligning itself with Iran instead of its long-standing allies in the region, including Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

  Sisi prevails: Obama ends 18-month arms embargo against Egypt, WorldTribune.com