Egypt Says It Is Ready to Help Defend Saudi Arabia Against Houthi Attacks
Sisi pledges support if requested as parliament prepares an emergency session and Iran offers to mediate in the Yemen fighting
By AXY Pakistan Desk ·
Key points
- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Saturday that Egypt would help defend Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks if requested, and only in a defensive role.
- Egyptian state media reported that parliament would hold an emergency session on Sunday to consider authorising possible support.
- Saudi Arabia reported intercepting four drones, while Houthi-affiliated media reported Saudi air strikes that killed at least 12 people in Yemen.
- The Suez Canal has reportedly lost about $11 billion in revenue since 2023, according to Egypt’s foreign minister.
- Iran renewed its offer to mediate, while Saudi Arabia accuses Tehran of encouraging the Houthi escalation, which Iran denies.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Saturday, October 17, that Egypt was ready to help defend Saudi Arabia against attacks by Yemen’s Houthi forces if Riyadh requested it. His remarks came as fighting intensified across the region and Cairo moved toward possible parliamentary approval of military support for the kingdom. Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the Egyptian Military Academy, Sisi said Egypt was “not looking for a role to play” in regional conflicts, but that it was “inconceivable” for Cairo to stand by while Saudi Arabia was “harmed or its security and stability threatened.” Egyptian state media later reported that parliament would hold an emergency session on Sunday, at Sisi’s request, to consider possible support for Saudi defences.
Sisi said Egypt would, “with the directives of His Majesty King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, carry out any measure to protect you or defend you.” He said any deployment would require parliamentary approval and expressed hope that lawmakers would convene quickly to authorise support “if it is requested of us.” He sought to limit the scope of any commitment, saying, “I’m not talking about fighting anyone or attacking anyone. We are speaking only about defence.”
Why the Yemen war has reached Saudi Arabia again
The conflict at the centre of Sisi’s remarks is the long war in Yemen, which has been going on since 2014, when the Houthis, a Zaydi Shia movement from the north of the country, seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of the territory around it. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in 2015 to back Yemen’s internationally recognised government, and for years the war was fought largely inside Yemen, with Saudi Arabia and the Houthis trading air strikes and cross-border fire. A United Nations-brokered truce in 2022 reduced large-scale fighting for a period, but no comprehensive peace settlement followed.
The Houthis have since returned to attacking Saudi Arabia, and the report describes a renewed conflict that has intensified since July. According to the source material, the Houthis have targeted Saudi energy facilities, vessels and Riyadh’s international airport. Analysts see the escalation as a serious test of the fragile arrangements that had kept the Saudi-Houthi front quieter, and as a sign that Riyadh is again facing direct pressure on its oil and transport infrastructure.
Drones, strikes and civilian casualties
On Saturday, Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted four drones over Riyadh, the Eastern Province and the south. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said the drones were “intercepted and destroyed” as the kingdom faced repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks on oil installations, tankers and airports. Riyadh’s airport was the site of an attack last week in which 13 people were killed.
Houthi-affiliated media reported that Saudi air strikes beginning overnight had killed at least 12 people in Yemen, including three children. The Houthi-affiliated outlets said strikes on what they described as civilian homes in Taiz killed nine people and wounded 16, while attacks in Dhamar killed three children and wounded 17. The Houthi news agency also alleged that Saudi forces had used cluster bombs, a claim the Saudi-led coalition had not commented on at the time of reporting. These casualty figures come from a party to the conflict and have not been independently confirmed in the source material. Cluster munitions are widely banned by international treaty because their submunitions often fail to explode and can kill civilians long after an attack.
The Red Sea, the Suez Canal and Egypt’s economic stakes
Egypt’s interest in the conflict is not only security-related. The Red Sea links the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most important shipping routes, to the Indian Ocean. The Bab al-Mandab Strait, a narrow passage at the southern end of the Red Sea, sits between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, and the Houthis have seized territory around it, increasing pressure on Red Sea shipping and energy exports.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said last month that the Suez Canal had lost about $11 billion in revenue since the Houthis began attacking commercial vessels in 2023. Canal fees are a major source of foreign currency for Egypt, so any further disruption to traffic would carry direct consequences for the country’s finances, its currency and its public budget. This economic exposure helps explain why Cairo has been drawn to the regional conflict even while presenting itself as an outside party.
During a visit to Egypt last month, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Sisi called for free and secure navigation in the Red Sea. The statement reflected a shared Egyptian and Saudi interest in keeping the waterway open, and it set the political backdrop for Sisi’s promise of support.
Egypt’s limited role and the question of parliamentary approval
Egypt joined the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen in 2015, but its role has largely focused on securing Red Sea shipping routes rather than frontline combat, according to the source material. That distinction matters. A naval or air-defence role, or assistance in protecting shipping, is different from ground deployment in Yemen, and Sisi’s emphasis on defence rather than attack suggests Cairo is framing any future contribution in those narrower terms.
Under Egypt’s constitution, the deployment of forces abroad requires parliamentary approval, which is why Sisi’s speech was tied to a request for an emergency session. Analysts note that a parliamentary vote would give any Egyptian commitment formal legal authority and would make the decision a matter of public record. The Sunday session will therefore be an early signal of how far Cairo is prepared to go.
Pakistan’s stake in the Makkah agreement
For Pakistani readers, the most direct link in the report is the Makkah agreement, a mutual defence pact signed in August by Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan. Egypt has not joined that pact and, according to the source material, has said it is studying the agreement. In general terms, mutual defence pacts commit signatories to respond if one of them is attacked, so the question of how such obligations would apply in a conflict involving Houthi attacks on Saudi territory is likely to be closely watched in Islamabad, Ankara and Cairo alike.
The source material does not describe any Pakistani government response to Sisi’s remarks or to the renewed fighting, and this report does not assume one. Analysts expect that the existence of the pact, and Egypt’s decision not to join it, will shape how regional capitals read any Egyptian commitment to Saudi defence.
Iran’s offer to mediate
Iran has backed a political solution to the Saudi-Houthi conflict and renewed its offer to mediate. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi repeated the offer on Saturday at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Baghdad. He said Tehran supported an “inclusive and comprehensive political process as the only practical and sustainable way to resolve the issue,” and added, “Either we build security together, or we will endure insecurity together.” He said Iran was willing to cooperate with its neighbours.
Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of encouraging the Houthis’ recent escalation, a charge Tehran denies. That disagreement is central to whether Iranian mediation could succeed. Iran is a long-standing backer of the Houthis, and Riyadh is unlikely to see Tehran as a neutral intermediary while it holds that view. Any talks would therefore depend on whether both sides see a path that does not require them to accept each other’s account of the conflict.
Other developments and Sisi’s remarks on succession
In the same speech, Sisi said his presidential term would end in 2030 and proposed a 30-month training programme at the Egyptian Military Academy to prepare potential future leaders. He said a committee would develop selection criteria and legislation for the programme, which would target PhD holders from reputable Egyptian and foreign universities. These remarks are separate from the Saudi defence question but were delivered at the same event.
The Houthis also announced the release of 159 pro-government fighters under an amnesty following their recent territorial gains. The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed the release and said it helped with interviews, health checks, family contacts and transportation. Prisoner releases of this kind are often used as confidence-building steps in Yemen, though they do not by themselves change the military balance.
What to watch next
The most immediate test is Sunday’s emergency session of Egypt’s parliament. A vote in favour would give Sisi formal authority to deploy support, while a delay or narrow mandate would suggest a more cautious approach. Readers should also watch whether the Houthis respond to Egypt’s stance, whether the Saudi-led coalition addresses the cluster munition allegation, and whether Iran’s mediation offer leads to any formal talks.
More broadly, analysts will be watching whether the Red Sea shipping situation improves or worsens, since that will shape both Egypt’s revenue and the global cost of energy and goods moving through the region. For ordinary readers, the key questions are whether the fighting spreads beyond Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and whether it disrupts the fuel, shipping and transport links that affect prices and daily life far from the front line.
Topics: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Houthis, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Yemen, Red Sea, Suez Canal, Iran
Sources: Dawn