Egyptian Parliament Authorizes Troops to Defend Saudi Arabia

The Egyptian Parliament on Monday voted to give President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi the authority to deploy troops to Saudi Arabia, where they would help the kingdom repel attacks from the Iran-backed Houthi insurgents of Yemen.

Sisi requested the authority to deploy troops last week, offering assurances that the deployment would be purely defensive in nature. Officials in Sisi’s administration have stressed that Egyptian soldiers would remain on Saudi soil and would not be directly involved in attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen.

On October 18, Sisi chaired a meeting of his National Defense Council, which includes Egypt’s top ministers and military officials. The Council passed a resolution of solidarity with Saudi Arabia and pledged to support its security and sovereignty.

The Egyptian constitution stipulates that military deployments outside the national border require approval from Parliament, and on Monday, two-thirds of Egyptian lawmakers voted to authorize the mission to Saudi Arabia. A notable exception was the caucus from Egypt’s Social Democratic Party, which abstained from the vote because it said not enough details had been provided about the cost and objectives of the mission.

The Saudi government has yet to make an official request for Egyptian support. 

Egypt is part of a loose four-way alliance with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, and Egypt known as the “Regional 4” or “R4,” and Cairo is seen as a close ally and potential future member of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, which was signed by the other three R4 governments in August 2026.

The Houthis were not happy to see the Egyptian parliament authorize a deployment to Saudi Arabia. Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the insurgency’s politburo, said on Tuesday that Egypt’s action was tantamount to a declaration of war.

“It is truly remarkable that while these people go to discuss what they call ‘peace in the region,’ Egypt and its parliament declare support for the so-called defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and in doing so, declare war against the Republic of Yemen,” he said. 

The Houthi official also called the Egyptian parliament’s vote “a clear and blatant act of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” and said the Houthis were “not afraid of any alliance that may be formed.”