Egyptian President Asks Parliament to Approve Military Action in Support of Saudi Arabia

Egypt’s leader has called an urgent parliamentary session to authorize military aid for Saudi Arabia, which has come under attack from the Iranian-backed Houthis.

A parliamentary vote, which was due to take place this week, has been postponed until Oct. 26.

“Egypt will provide Saudi Arabia with all necessary and possible forms of support to defend its security and stability, protect its resources, territorial integrity and Islamic holy sites,” the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

The decision followed a meeting of the National Defense Council, chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

In a speech on Saturday, El-Sisi said Egypt would act ​after receiving guidance from King Salman of Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who visited Cairo on Sept. 15.

‘Defensive Mission’

Egyptian lawmaker Mostafa Bakry posted on X on Sunday that the Egyptian parliament was meeting to discuss the president’s decision “to send military forces to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on a defensive mission.”

“Egypt has never shirked its Arab role in protecting Arab national security, and Saudi Arabia, for us, is a part of Egyptian national security, and any threat to its security and stability is a threat to us,” Bakry said.

The war between a Saudi-led coalition, which backs Yemen’s internationally recognized government, and the Houthis—which had been dormant since a ceasefire was agreed in 2022—flared up again last month, with the Iranian-backed terrorist group capturing the port of Mokha on the Red Sea.

Yemeni government forces then launched a counter-offensive with Saudi air support on Oct. 4, and seized key positions in Dhubab, effectively regaining control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key international waterway.

The Houthis responded on Oct. 10, targeting King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital of Riyadh with missiles and drones, killing at least 13 people and injuring more than 300 others.

Col. Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led Arab coalition forces, said in a statement on Oct. 9 that the coalition was “working to dismantle and destroy the ballistic missile network of the terrorist Houthi militia.”

The Houthis control the capital, Sanaa, much of the north, and also a portion of the Red Sea coast.

Since October 2024, the Houthis have attacked international shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and have also fired missiles at targets in Israel.

On June 8, the Houthis warned that any Israeli-linked vessel in the Red Sea would be considered a military target.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said in a post on X on Sunday that he had discussed regional developments and the importance of de-escalation during a phone call with the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

On Monday, Abdelatty said he also spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi about de-escalation and “respecting Gulf security.”

Egypt’s Dark Past in Yemen

Getting militarily involved in Yemen could be politically difficult for El-Sisi.

In the 1960s, then-Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, a socialist, became embroiled in a civil war in Yemen, which has been described by some as “Egypt’s Vietnam.”

More than 20,000 Egyptian soldiers died fighting with republican forces against Saudi-backed royalists during a civil war that lasted from 1962 to 1970.

The conflict drew in large numbers of Egyptian troops, and it has been argued by some historians that it partly led to the country’s defeat by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967.

El-Sisi, 71, said on Saturday that his third and final presidential term would end in 2030, and he would not seek to amend the constitution to allow him to stay on.

“I said ⁠that the Egyptian constitution would not be touched,” he said while attending a graduation ceremony at the Egyptian Military Academy. “This is an entirely settled matter and will not be discussed.”

A former Egyptian army commander, El-Sisi mounted a coup in 2013 that toppled President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.

El-Sisi was then elected president in 2014 and was reelected in 2018 and 2023.