Egypt approves potential military deployment to Saudi Arabia after Houthi threats

Lawmakers in Egypt have granted President Abdel Fattah El Sisi legal permission to deploy armed forces to Saudi Arabia if necessary, an allied member of parliament announced on Monday. The move removes the primary constitutional barrier to a potential military intervention targeting Houthi fighters.

Lawmaker Mostafa Bakry confirmed on social media platform X that parliament endorsed the measure during a private session in Cairo. Bakry noted that the assembly granted the president full discretion to dispatch troops following coordination between the two nations, leaving the final decision to his assessment.

The vote was conducted behind closed doors through a roll call, and official tally figures were not publicly released. Under Article 152 of Egypt's constitution, authorizing foreign combat deployments requires the support of at least two-thirds of the 596-seat chamber, representing 398 legislators. Pro-government coalitions easily exceed this threshold, controlling 403 of the elected seats.

The legislative approval does not signal an imminent dispatch of military forces. As supreme commander of the military, El Sisi holds the authority to act, but he has maintained that Cairo will deploy forces only if Riyadh formally requests assistance. Saudi officials have not announced any such request to date.

El Sisi initially sought parliamentary authorization on October 17 during an address at the Egyptian Military Academy, declaring that any harm to Saudi security was unacceptable. Egypt's National Defence Council met the next day, pledging comprehensive backing to the kingdom, though it did not detail the potential scale, nature, or duration of any support.

While analysts anticipated swift approval, lawmakers held two private debates on October 18 and 19 before taking a week-long recess. Deputy Speaker Assem El Gazzar noted that nearly 500 parliamentarians requested speaking time during the discussions, an unprecedented level of engagement.

Support across the chamber was broad. The liberal Wafd Party described the kingdom's stability as indivisible from Egyptian security, while the Justice Party and the Salafist Nour Party backed defensive coordination with Riyadh. Conversely, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party directed its roughly 12 representatives to abstain, with lawmaker Maha Abdel Nasser warning against regional escalation, economic burdens, and an undefined mandate.

Public concern within Egypt heightened following an October 10 Houthi attack on the airport in Riyadh, which left 12 people dead, including a 28-year-old Egyptian flight attendant from Beheira province. In Yemen, the Houthi-led assembly in Sanaa warned Cairo against getting involved, cautioning that military intervention would severely endanger Egypt's domestic stability.

Beyond historical regional ties, Cairo maintains vital economic links with Saudi Arabia, a key financial backer. Additionally, sustained Houthi strikes on commercial vessels in the Red Sea have harmed revenue from the Suez Canal, a vital generator of foreign reserves for the Egyptian economy. Officials have characterized any potential deployment as defensive, though they have not indicated whether operations would focus on naval assets, air defense systems, or ground personnel.