Egypt military support for Saudi Arabia won approval from Egypt’s parliament on Monday, October 26, 2026. The House of Representatives authorised the military to help defend the kingdom if Riyadh asks for help against attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had asked parliament last week to approve the move. State newspaper Al-Ahram reported that the house approved authorising the president to take the necessary measures to support Saudi Arabia.
The decision could pull Cairo directly into a regional conflict that has grown sharper in recent weeks. Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have intensified, and the fighting now forms a volatile front in the wider United States-Israeli war on Iran.
Egypt military support for Saudi Arabia: what parliament approved
Parliament’s approval covers support to defend Saudi Arabia. It does not, on its own, order Egyptian troops into combat. Sisi has said Cairo’s support would be limited to defending Saudi territory and borders rather than attacking Yemen.
That limit matters. Egypt has condemned attacks on Gulf countries for years, but it has not publicly engaged in direct combat in the current conflict. It has also not joined the Makkah mutual defence pact signed in August by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said this month that Egyptian membership in that pact remains under serious consideration. The parliament vote therefore moves Egypt closer to the Saudi camp without, for now, signing it up to the pact itself.
Abdelatty and intelligence chief Hassan Rashad travelled to Riyadh on Wednesday to deliver a letter from Sisi to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. After that visit, Abdelatty said Cairo advocates exploring every opportunity to resolve the Yemen conflict diplomatically.
Why Egypt is acting now
The Houthis have attacked Riyadh’s international airport and the state oil giant Saudi Aramco in recent weeks. Those strikes disrupted flights and oil exports. Aid agencies have warned that conditions in Yemen are worsening, in a country already suffering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Egypt has a direct stake in the Red Sea. Houthi advances threaten the Bab al-Mandeb strait, the gateway to Egypt’s Suez Canal. Shipping through the strait feeds canal revenue, and any threat to that route hits Egypt’s economy as well as its security.
Saudi Arabia is also a major political and financial partner for Cairo, providing billions of dollars in aid, deposits at Egypt’s central bank and energy supplies under Sisi. The Saudi crown prince visited Sisi in Cairo on September 15 to discuss Red Sea security after fighting in Yemen reignited.
What this means for Pakistan
For readers in Pakistan, the vote lands close to home. Pakistan is a member of the Makkah pact, and Islamabad has already condemned Houthi attacks on the kingdom. Feature Pakistan reported that the Foreign Office called the October 24 attacks on the Makkah and Madinah regions a grave violation of Saudi sovereignty.
Egypt’s move adds another large Arab military to the Saudi side of the argument, even if Cairo keeps its role defensive. It also raises the stakes for diplomacy, since more countries with forces in the region means more room for a miscalculation.
Egypt’s past wars in Yemen
Egypt’s caution has deep roots. Cairo joined the Saudi-led coalition in an earlier phase of Yemen’s war in March 2015, mainly as a naval partner. It sent warships to secure Red Sea shipping lanes and pledged air support, and it deployed around 800 ground troops, but it played only a limited combat role.
Egypt was involved in a costly military intervention in Yemen in the 1960s. It has not undertaken a large-scale foreign ground deployment since the 1991 Gulf War. That history helps explain why Sisi framed the new approval as defensive.
What happens next
No Saudi request for Egyptian help has been made public yet. The parliament vote gives Sisi the authority to act if Riyadh asks. The next signal to watch is whether Saudi Arabia makes such a request, and whether Egypt’s role stays naval and defensive or grows wider.
What did Egypt’s parliament approve?
It authorised Egypt’s military to provide support to help defend Saudi Arabia, and authorised President Sisi to take the necessary measures to support the kingdom.
Is Egypt joining the Makkah defence pact?
No. Egypt has not joined the pact between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye. Its foreign minister has said membership remains under serious consideration.
