The Egyptian Army has held a press conference today to deny media reports that there are foreign military bases in the country, saying that the reports are untrue and that “there never has been and there never will be any foreign military bases in Egypt.”

Egypt’s Army statement termed the issue “farfetched.” The US Embassy in Cairo also issued a statement today insisting that there are no US military bases inside Egypt.

Col. Ahmed Ali says that the confusion is the result of some 1,600 foreign soldiers, including Americans, being deployed inside of Egypt since 1979. The deployments are meant to monitor the Egypt-Israeli peace deal.

Despite 1,600 foreign troops staying in Egypt on what is by any estimate a “permanent” basis, Col. Ali insists that the troops say at “Multinational Forces Facilities,” which he insisted are not the same thing as foreign military bases. They’re just mistaken for that because they are bases for foreign troops.

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