CAIRO, Sept 18 (Aswat Masriya) – Terrorist attacks in the Sinai Peninsula will intensify in the coming period to serve a plot by foreign powers against Egypt, according to state-run newspaper al-Ahram.

The spike in terrorist attacks is meant to distract security forces and create more dilemmas for the regime in Egypt, the newspaper explained.

The state mouthpiece published on Sunday a report accusing “foreign powers” of conspiring against Egypt in an attempt to stir public opinion and discredit the country’s leadership, citing "documented information obtained by al-Ahram."

“The foreign powers continue to recruit [terrorists] exploiting the situation of poor people in the country…. Open borders with Libya and Sudan allow the storage of weapons to arm new recruits to carry out operations against the military and security forces and disrupt the revival of the Egyptian economy,” the report said. 

The article, published in its print edition without a byline, said the foreign plot aims to “consume the time of political leadership in diplomatic meetings” that are only conducted out of formality, referring to meeting requests by presidents, prime ministers and top officials of international organizations with the Egyptian authorities. 

The state-owned newspaper didn't reveal the identity of the conspirators nor presented any evidence, only referring to them as foreign powers throughout the article.

The article said that the plot also includes attempts by the Muslim Brotherhood to take legal action against Sisi and a number of his aides, suggesting that these plans emerged after the Egyptian authorities “directed blows to the Muslim Brotherhood inside the country and abroad as well as due to the recent achievements of the Egyptian diplomacy.”

However, the article boasts that the state knows uncovered these plots and succeeded in containing the consequences of plans to put Egypt under economic and political siege, according to anonymous sources in the article. 

“Sources expect the wave of opposition against the regime in Egypt to intensify, especially after the success of president Sisi’s recent international tours and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement,” the article read.

Egypt, who suffers from declining foreign currency reserves, as well as a decline in tourism and investment, reached in August an initial agreement with IMF for a $12 billion three-year funding facility to support a government reform programme aimed at cutting the funding gap and improving the currency market.

The newspaper also said the rate of reports in international newspapers and magazines criticizing the situation in Egypt have increased over the last period, saying these outlets tend to source figures that oppose the current regime.

“[These outlets] aim to tarnish the image of the regime and distract the government in order to achieve other goals,” the article read.

An article published by The Economist in August under the title “The Ruining of Egypt” was faced by outrage from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry as well as state media. Later in the same month, Bloomberg published an article titled “Egypt’s failing Economy is Sisi’s fault.” Both articles criticised the Egyptian government’s policies, attributing the incompetence of the country’s economic policies mainly to the president. 

Al-Ahram suggested that foreign powers fear Egypt especially given its “right vision” regarding terrorism and its significant role in reviving the peace process in the region.

“They are afraid of the revival of Nasserism in the Arab world by President Sisi,” the report read.

This isn’t the first time al-Ahram pointed to foreign conspiracies against Egypt. The same newspaper had published two articles in August accusing the BBC and CNN of conspiring against Egypt to harm the country’s tourism sector.

Warnings of plots have been widely promoted by Egypt’s state-owned media and private pro-government media outlets throughout the past few years. They echoed the message that Egypt is facing a foreign conspiracy to undermine its stability, with foreign media and anonymous foreign powers being that targets for the attacks. 

The Foreign Ministry as well as the State Information Service have also repeatedly reprimanded foreign media outlets for relaying what they deem an inaccurate and distorted image of Egypt to serve certain agendas.