Egypt's parliament on Monday authorized the country's military to provide support in defending Saudi Arabia, according to lawmakers and local media reports. The decision could bring Cairo directly into a regional conflict that has widened as Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis step up attacks on the Gulf kingdom.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi asked parliament last week to approve the defense of Egypt's Gulf Arab ally, the world's largest oil exporter, should Riyadh request assistance against the Houthis. Their advances also endanger the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a gateway to Egypt's Suez Canal.
Egypt has repeatedly condemned Iranian and Iranian-backed attacks on Gulf states. It has not, however, publicly taken part in direct combat, and it has not joined the Mecca mutual defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, which was signed in August. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said this month that Egyptian membership in the pact remains "under serious consideration."
Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world and has one of the region's largest militaries. It joined the Saudi-led coalition in March 2015, during an earlier phase of the Yemen war, mainly as a naval partner. Cairo sent warships to help secure Red Sea shipping lanes and pledged air support. It also deployed about 800 ground troops, though their combat role was limited.
Egypt carried out a costly military intervention in Yemen in the 1960s, and it has not mounted a large-scale foreign ground deployment since the 1991 Gulf War. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is a major political and financial partner for Cairo. Under Sisi, the kingdom has provided billions of dollars in aid, deposits at the central bank and energy supplies.
Fighting between the Saudi-led coalition, which backs Yemen's internationally recognized government, and the Houthi militia, which controls the capital Sanaa, has escalated in recent weeks. It has become a volatile front in the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The Houthis have struck Riyadh's international airport and the state oil giant Saudi Aramco, disrupting flights and oil exports. Aid agencies have warned that conditions are worsening in Yemen, which already faces one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Abdelatty and Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad traveled to Riyadh on Wednesday to deliver a letter from Sisi to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Sisi said Egypt's support would be limited to defending Saudi territory and borders rather than attacking Yemen. After the visit, Abdelatty said Cairo favors exploring "every opportunity" to resolve the Yemen conflict through diplomacy.
The Saudi crown prince had visited Sisi in Cairo on September 15 to discuss security and navigation in the Red Sea, after fighting in Yemen flared up again.
