Egypt's parliament authorizes military support to defend Saudi Arabia against Houthis

Egypt's parliament on Monday authorized President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to take necessary measures to support Saudi Arabia in defending its territory against attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. AP reported the vote from Cairo, while The Jerusalem Post cited parliamentarians and local media, and Yahoo cited Egyptian media reports. AP said the government gave no details about the support.

What we know

• AP reported that the parliament said in a statement the vote was meant to authorize al-Sisi to take necessary measures to back Saudi Arabia in the defense of its territory and sovereignty against an external "aggression."
• Yahoo, citing the state-aligned news website Youm7, reported that the resolution was approved by a two-thirds majority in a plenary session chaired by parliamentary speaker Hisham Badawi, while AP said the parliament did not provide a breakdown of the closed-door vote.
• AP quoted a regional official, speaking on condition of anonymity, as saying Egypt will deploy air defense systems and aircraft to help repel missiles and drones fired at Saudi Arabia, and that the support is defensive and will not include ground troops in Yemen.
• Yahoo reported that Egyptian lawmaker Mostafa Bakri said on X that the authorization empowered al-Sisi to send Egyptian troops to Saudi Arabia if necessary and in coordination with the kingdom.
• The Jerusalem Post reported that al-Sisi had said Egypt's support would be limited to defending Saudi territory and borders rather than attacking Yemen, and that Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and intelligence chief Hassan Rashad delivered a letter from him to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Wednesday.
• AP reported that the opposition Egyptian Social Democratic Party said its 11-member parliamentary bloc would abstain, citing insufficient information about the mission's objectives, scope, duration and costs, as well as the risks to Egyptian troops.

What we don't know yet

• The type and extent of the support: AP reported that the government did not give details, which prompted lawmakers to question the nature and extent of the proposed assistance.
• Whether ground forces will be sent: Yahoo said it remains unclear whether Riyadh will request the deployment of ground forces, and that no specific military deployment has been announced.
• The vote count and the content of the debates: AP said the debates were not open, so it was not immediately clear how the discussions went, and Yahoo's two-thirds figure comes from Youm7.
• Whether Egypt will join the Mecca mutual defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey: The Jerusalem Post said Abdelatty stated this month that membership remains "under serious consideration."

Background

Qatar Standard reported in September that the Houthis had threatened strikes against Egyptian, Turkish and Pakistani interests, and that the reports did not say what kind of strikes the group had in mind. Earlier reporting also covered the meeting of Turkish, Pakistani and Saudi military chiefs in Riyadh on September 25, and noted that the Mecca Defense Alliance's founding charter was signed on August 7. On October 16, Qatar Standard reported that Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserted the kingdom's right to defend itself after the UN Security Council issued a presidential statement condemning Houthi attacks on Saudi territory.