Egypt commits forces to Saudi defence as Houthi strikes mount

Parliament authorised Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday to take "all necessary measures" to help Saudi Arabia to defend itself - a move that could push Cairo more directly into the conflict between the kingdom and Yemen's Iran-allied Houthis.

Sisi had asked parliament to approve military support to Egypt's Gulf Arab ally and the world's biggest oil exporter if Riyadh requested help against the Houthis, whose advances also threaten the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait — southern gateway to the Red Sea and Egypt's Suez Canal. 

At least two-thirds of the chamber backed the measure, according to a parliamentary statement shared with Reuters by members of the house.

Egypt has frequently condemned Iranian and Iranian-backed attacks on Gulf countries but has not publicly engaged in direct combat or joined the Mecca mutual defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, signed in August.

 Top officials from the three Mecca pact countries were meeting Iranian leaders in Tehran on Monday in a push to de-escalate the conflict.

SISI SPELLS OUT LIMITS OF EGYPTIAN SUPPORT FOR SAUDIS

The Cairo parliament had postponed the vote last week as Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and intelligence chief Hassan Rashad travelled to Riyadh to deliver a letter to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In it, Sisi made clear that Egypt's support would be limited to defending Saudi territory and borders rather than attacking Yemen. 

Abdelatty said afterwards that Cairo advocated exploring "every opportunity" to resolve the Yemen conflict diplomatically.

Egypt, the Arab world's most populous state with one of the region's largest militaries, joined the Saudi-led coalition in an earlier phase of Yemen's war, in March 2015.

At that time it acted mainly as a naval partner, sending warships to secure Red Sea shipping lanes. It also deployed around 800 ground troops but played only a limited combat role.  

Egypt was involved in a costly military intervention in Yemen in the 1960s and has not undertaken a large-scale foreign ground deployment since the 1991 Gulf War.

Yahya Ali al-Rai, speaker of Yemen's Houthi-run House of Representatives, last week urged the Cairo parliament to reject the proposal, saying Egypt would be threatening its own national security and internal stability.

Saudi Arabia is a major political and financial partner of Cairo, providing billions of dollars in aid, deposits at the central bank and energy supplies under Sisi. 

Fighting between the Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's internationally recognised government and the Houthi militia, which controls the capital Sanaa, has escalated in recent weeks, becoming a volatile front in the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The Houthis have attacked Riyadh's international airport and the state oil giant Saudi Aramco, disrupting flights and oil exports, while aid agencies have warned of worsening conditions in Yemen, already suffering one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. 

The Saudi crown prince had sought military help from the US, but President Donald Trump did not agree to strikes on the Houthis, people familiar with the matter told Reuters in September. Washington told Riyadh that it would help with intelligence sharing and targeting, they added.