Egypt's parliament voted on Monday 26 October 2026 to authorise President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to take the necessary measures to support Saudi Arabia if Riyadh requests help against attacks by Yemen's Houthi movement, parliamentarians and local media reported.

A defensive authorisation, not a deployment

The vote, which required a two-thirds majority under Egypt's constitution after consultation with the National Defence Council, gives Sisi the authority to act, but no formal Saudi request for troops has been announced and no Egyptian deployment has been announced. Sisi has stressed the mission would be defensive only, defending Saudi territory and borders without reaching into Yemen, and a parliamentary official told Reuters that Egypt would send forces only in coordination with the kingdom and at its request. Egypt has not joined the mutual defence pact signed in August by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey; its foreign minister has said membership remains under serious consideration.

Why Cairo acted now

The authorisation follows weeks of intensifying Houthi strikes on Saudi targets, including airports and Aramco oil facilities, which have raised fears for Red Sea shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the gateway to Egypt's Suez Canal. Egypt joined the Saudi-led coalition in an earlier phase of Yemen's war in 2015 mainly as a naval partner, and has not undertaken a large-scale foreign ground deployment since the 1991 Gulf War. Saudi Arabia is also a major political and financial partner for Cairo, providing aid, central bank deposits and energy supplies.

Sources: Reuters via Devdiscourse; The News, 26 October 2026.