CAIRO — Egypt said Sunday it is ready to provide “all necessary and possible support to Saudi Arabia to defend its safety and stability,” as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis press on with attacks on the kingdom, Al Jazeera reported.
The pledge came from Egypt’s National Defence Council, chaired by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, which said Egypt “stands fully with” Saudi Arabia in defending its resources, territorial integrity and Islamic holy sites, and promised to step up diplomacy to calm the region. The presidency’s statement did not mention troops, but Mostafa Bakry, a lawmaker close to the state, said on X that the council had approved sending forces on “a defensive mission,” The National reported.
Parliament convened an emergency closed session at 1 p.m. Cairo time on Sunday to consider authorizing el-Sisi to send forces if Riyadh asks. Under Article 152 of Egypt’s constitution, the president cannot send the army on a combat mission abroad without consulting the defence council and winning the approval of two-thirds of lawmakers. The pro-Sisi majority was widely expected to approve the request, and approval alone would not mean troops are deployed, The National said. An official result had not been reported by the outlets cited here at the time of writing.
“We do not want to fight or attack anyone. We will only defend Saudi Arabia,” el-Sisi said in a speech at the Military Academy on Saturday, according to The National.
The Houthis have attacked Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport at least 20 times since fighting flared again with Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, and have also targeted state oil giant Saudi Aramco, Al Jazeera reported. Gulf analyst Thomas Bonnie James told Al Jazeera that an Egyptian resident was killed in an attack on the airport, that millions of Egyptians live and work in the kingdom, and that Houthi pressure on the Bab al-Mandeb strait threatens Suez Canal revenue.
Yahya al-Raei, speaker of the Houthi-run parliament in Sanaa, warned Cairo that being drawn into the conflict “would pose a grave danger to its national security,” The National reported. Turkey and Pakistan have made their own pledges to help defend the kingdom under a Mecca defence pact signed in August.
Update, 11:55 a.m. PT, October 18: After a closed session that ran nearly three hours, the House of Representatives postponed the vote on el-Sisi’s request, extending deliberations into Monday and Tuesday so every lawmaker can speak, with a vote now expected Tuesday, Mada Masr and Ahram Online reported. Lawmakers were mostly in support but no details of what military support might look like were discussed, MPs told AFP. Mada Masr said MPs demanded more detail on the armed forces’ role, and Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that the Wafd party’s Mohamed Abdel Aleem Daoud and the Egyptian Social Democratic Party said they would abstain until they see the full details.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera explainer, The National, Mada Masr, Ahram Online, AFP via BSS
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