Egypt pledges support for Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks escalate

Sisi has asked for an urgent parliamentary session to authorise the military to help defend Saudi Arabia should the kingdom request its assistance.

Egypt on Sunday announced that it was ready to militarily assist Saudi Arabia for safeguarding its security and stability, as Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis step up their assaults on the world’s largest oil exporter. Sisi has asked for an urgent parliamentary session to authorise the military, one of the largest and most powerful in the region, to help defend Saudi Arabia should the kingdom request its assistance.

“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, according to Reuters. The statement came after a meeting of Egypt’s National Defence Council, which was chaired by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The parliamentary speaker, the prime minister and the army chief also attended.

In a speech on Saturday, Sisi said Egypt would act in line with guidance from Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The crown prince had visited Sisi on September 15, after fighting in Yemen flared up again.

In recent days, the Houthis have targeted Riyadh’s international airport and the state oil giant Saudi Aramco. The attacks come amid renewed clashes with the Saudi-backed forces of Yemen’s internationally recognised government, following the collapse of a truce.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia are close strategic and economic partners. After the military removal of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013, Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Gulf states supplied Egypt with billions of dollars in aid, central-bank deposits and investments. Egypt had earlier joined the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to back the government against the Houthis, although its combat role was limited.