Sisi's Army Gets Green Light to Defend Saudi Arabia from Houthis

Egyptian lawmakers voted on Monday to grant the military authority to defend Saudi Arabia, marking a shift from diplomatic support to potential direct combat involvement in the Yemen conflict. The approval allows President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to deploy forces if Riyadh requests assistance against attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.

The decision responds to a request Sisi made to parliament last week. He sought a mandate to protect his Gulf ally and the world's largest oil exporter. The Houthis have intensified attacks on the kingdom, threatening the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which serves as a critical gateway to the Suez Canal.

Cairo has previously condemned Iranian-backed attacks on Gulf states but has avoided direct combat. Egypt has not joined the Mecca mutual defense pact signed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey in August. However, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty stated this month that membership remains under serious consideration.

Egypt's military has a history of involvement in the region. The country joined the Saudi-led coalition in March 2015 as a naval partner. It sent warships to secure Red Sea shipping lanes and deployed approximately 800 ground troops, though it played a limited combat role. Before that, Egypt participated in a costly intervention in Yemen during the 1960s and has not undertaken a large-scale foreign ground deployment since the 1991 Gulf War.

Saudi Arabia remains a vital financial and political partner for Cairo. The Gulf state provides billions of dollars in aid, central bank deposits, and energy supplies under the Sisi administration. Recent weeks have seen escalating violence between the Saudi-backed coalition and the Houthi militia, which controls the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

Houthi forces have targeted Riyadh's international airport and the state oil company Saudi Aramco. These strikes have disrupted flights and oil exports. Aid agencies warn that conditions in Yemen are worsening, with the nation already facing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and intelligence chief Hassan Rashad traveled to Riyadh. They delivered a letter from Sisi to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The letter specified that Egyptian support would focus on defending Saudi territory and borders rather than attacking Yemen. Abdelatty later said Cairo seeks to resolve the conflict diplomatically. The crown prince visited Sisi in Cairo on September 15 to discuss security in the Red Sea.