Egypt Authorizes Military Support for Saudi Arabia Amid Houthi Attacks

Egypt's parliament has voted to authorize President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to provide Saudi Arabia with military support in defending the kingdom against attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The vote, which occurred in a closed-door session overwhelmingly dominated by pro-government lawmakers, grants el-Sissi the authority to take necessary measures to back Saudi Arabia in the defense of its territory and sovereignty against external aggression.

While specific details about the nature and extent of the support were not immediately provided, a regional official indicated that Egypt will deploy air defense systems and aircraft to help repel missiles and drones targeting Saudi Arabia. This support will be defensive in nature and will not involve ground troops in Yemen.

The parliamentary vote was delayed from the previous week due to reported wariness among Egyptians concerning intervention in Yemen's protracted conflict. The Egyptian Social Democratic Party's 11-member bloc announced it would abstain from the vote, citing a lack of sufficient information regarding the mission's objectives, scope, duration, costs, and potential risks to Egyptian forces. The party advocated for prioritizing diplomacy to avoid open-ended military commitments.

President el-Sissi sought to reassure the public, stating that Egypt is not preparing to attack Yemen and that the military support is strictly limited to defending Saudi territory. He emphasized that Egypt has not engaged in cooperation for combat operations beyond the borders of cooperating countries, with the focus solely on defending the kingdom's territory and borders.

Saudi Arabia is a significant financial backer of Egypt, providing billions in financial aid and investments. Remittances from Egyptians working in Saudi Arabia also represent a major source of foreign currency for Egypt.

This authorization evokes historical parallels with Egypt's involvement in the Yemen civil war during the 1960s. That conflict, which began in 1962, saw Egypt deploy tens of thousands of troops to North Yemen in support of republican forces. The intervention, which lasted a decade, is considered by some to have strained the Egyptian military and economy, contributing to the defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War.

In 2015, Egypt sent naval vessels to the Red Sea in support of the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthi rebels during an earlier phase of the conflict, though it did not deploy ground troops at that time.