Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Saturday asked his country's parliament to hold an emergency session to authorize Egypt to help defend Saudi Arabia if the kingdom requests it, as attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi soil intensify.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the Egyptian Military Academy in the New Administrative Capital, el-Sisi said Egypt will “carry out any measure to protect” Saudi Arabia “in accordance with the directives of His Majesty King Salman and the directives of the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.”
"I am not speaking in order for us to fight anyone or attack anyone. I am speaking only for defence." — President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
“I know that this matter requires the approval of the Egyptian parliament, and I hope that parliament will convene in an emergency session to give us this authorisation, if it is requested of us,” he said, according to Al Jazeera. He stressed the step would be defensive only: “I am not speaking in order for us to fight anyone or attack anyone. I am speaking only for defence.”
Parliament's General Secretariat said the House of Representatives will meet on Sunday in response to the president's request. No Egyptian deployment has been announced, and any action would depend on a request from Riyadh.
The move follows a wave of Houthi strikes on Saudi airports and oil facilities. Attacks on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport earlier this month killed 14 people and wounded more than 300, Al Jazeera reported. The Houthis also seized Yemen's Red Sea coast last month, tightening their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb strait, the southern gateway to the Suez Canal, a key source of revenue for Egypt.
Saudi Arabia already signed a defence pact with Pakistan and Turkey in August. El-Sisi also said Saturday he will not seek to stay in office beyond 2030, when his term ends.
Photo: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi speaks at the Egyptian Military Academy graduation ceremony, Oct. 17, 2026. Still from Al Arabiya English video posted on X
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