Egypt's parliament has given President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi the authority to provide military support to Saudi Arabia, as attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis continue to escalate. The House of Representatives, chaired by Speaker Hisham Badawi, approved the mandate in a vote on Monday.
According to a parliamentary statement that members shared with Reuters, el-Sisi is authorised to "undertake necessary" measures to help Saudi Arabia defend itself, should Riyadh ask for assistance. The decision raises the prospect of Egypt becoming more directly involved in a conflict that has gripped the Gulf and the Red Sea in recent weeks.
The vote came after Houthi strikes on Riyadh's international airport and on facilities belonging to Saudi state oil company Aramco, which have disrupted flights and oil exports. The Houthis, who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa, are fighting a Saudi-led coalition that supports Yemen's internationally recognised government. Fighting has intensified recently, adding to a humanitarian crisis that has already devastated the country.
Nawaf Obaid, a visiting senior research fellow at King's College London, told Al Jazeera that Saudi officials wanted assurances that Egypt would stand with the kingdom if called upon. In his view, the vote was Cairo's way of saying "it will be there." He added that questions remain about what kind of help Riyadh might request and how Egypt would deliver it.
El-Sisi said on Wednesday that any Egyptian military action would be limited to protecting Saudi territory and borders, and would not involve attacks on Yemen. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, after visiting Riyadh the same day, said Cairo still favours a diplomatic settlement.
The authorisation followed closed-door parliamentary discussions and an earlier postponement of the vote. Saudi Arabia is one of Egypt's most important economic partners. Under Egypt's constitution, sending troops abroad on combat missions requires approval from two-thirds of legislators.
Egypt also has its own interests in Red Sea security. Houthi attacks near the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a key route to and from the Suez Canal, have disrupted shipping and cut canal revenue. Egypt took part in an earlier Saudi-led campaign in Yemen in 2015, largely using naval forces to help secure shipping routes. Cairo has not carried out a large-scale foreign ground deployment since the 1991 Gulf War.
On the diplomatic front, el-Sisi met United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Cairo on Monday to discuss regional tensions and peace efforts. Egypt's presidency said Guterres praised Cairo's work to prevent escalation in the Gulf and said diplomacy could help resolve disputes over Iran's nuclear programme and shipping. In a post on X on Monday, Guterres urged "maximum restraint" and warned that further fighting could spiral out of control.
