The Obama administration has cut back on hundreds of millions of dollars worth of military aid to Egypt, in what the US is describing as a “recalibration” of aid.
According to State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, Washington has suspended the delivery of jets, tanks, missiles and helicopters to Egypt,
“pending credible progress toward an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government through free and fair elections”.
In a program that has lasted over 30 years, $1.3 billion of military aid has been annually sent to Egypt from the United States.
US Secretary of State John Kerry had said,
"by no means is this a withdrawal from our relationship or a severing of our serious commitment to helping the government".
A senior U.S. official had been quoted by Voice of America as saying,
"the United States will not support actions that run contrary to our interests and our principles."
Another senior administration official had told the Guardian,
“Holding up deliveries of hundreds of millions of dollars of military assistance is a pretty clear message.”
Egypt responded with the military backed government saying it would not back down in the face of foreign pressure. It also went on to say,
"The government expressed the strangeness of the decision which was issued at such a vital time during which Egypt is facing a war against terrorism".
Meanwhile, Egypt's anti-Islamist leaning Tahrir newspaper’s headline read,
"Let the American aid go to hell".