\n<\/p>\n
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Wednesday that Cairo\u2019s proposed military support for Riyadh was to \u201cdefend Saudi territory, and does not include an attack on Yemen,\u201d according to a statement from his office.<\/strong><\/p>\n At a government event titled Egypt Forum 2026, Sisi said the \u201cobjective is to defend the kingdom\u2019s lands and borders, as well as those of any other Arab state, should it be requested of Egypt,\u201d his spokesman said in a statement.<\/p>\n Sisi on Saturday had asked parliament to authorise support for Saudi Arabia in its war with the Houthis, \u201cif requested\u201d.<\/p>\n The parliament, which is stacked with supporters of the president, has since held two rare secret sessions, before postponing deliberations until next week.<\/p>\n Following the morning event where Sisi made the speech, which was reported on a delay, a high-level Egyptian delegation visited Riyadh, the kingdom\u2019s state news agency reported.<\/p>\n Egypt\u2019s top diplomat Badr Abdelatty and spy chief Hassan Rashad delivered a letter from Sisi to Saudi Arabia\u2019s de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi press agency said.<\/p>\n The contents of the message were not reported.<\/p>\n In recent weeks, Ansar Allah Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have reached an unprecedented scale, forcing Riyadh to shut its main airport and postpone a major investment conference.<\/p>\n A Houthi maritime blockade is also threatening oil exports from the kingdom, the world\u2019s biggest crude exporter.<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia has since rallied a show of support from its allies. French President Emmanuel Macron, on a surprise \u2018solidarity\u2019 visit to the kingdom Wednesday said French troops would help shield the key oil terminal of Yanbu on the Red Sea.<\/p>\n The day before, the UK government announced it would deploy British fighter jets to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against increasing attacks.<\/p>\n A handful of dissenting voices within Egypt\u2019s parliament have demanded \u201cspecific objectives and clear information\u201d on any possible deployment and an assessment of the \u201cpotential risks to the lives of our soldiers\u201d.<\/p>\n Direct military involvement is unpopular in the Arab world\u2019s most populous nation, while memories of its last disastrous deployment in Yemen, in the 1960s when thousands of soldiers were killed fighting in the North Yemen civil war, remain alive.<\/p>\n That mission, under President Gamal Abdel Nasser, was later compared to the US war in Vietnam.<\/p>\n Riyadh is one of Cairo\u2019s strongest allies, and a key financial backer of Sisi\u2019s administration since the former army chief ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in 2013.<\/p>\n In his speech on Saturday, Sisi said it was \u201cinconceivable\u201d for Cairo to stand by as Riyadh\u2019s security and stability were threatened, after the unconditional support the kingdom gave Egypt in the early days of his administration.<\/p>\n Egypt joined the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen in 2015, contributing naval and air forces and deploying warships to the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait.<\/p>\n But over the past decade, it has adopted an increasingly conservative foreign policy, prioritising its own national security.<\/p>\n It has positioned itself as a regional mediator with channels open across conflict lines, including with Hamas, Israel and Iran.<\/p>\n Again on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Abdelatty said Egypt\u2019s foreign policy was defined by \u201cwisdom and strategic balance\u201d.<\/p>\n This week, Abdelatty has been in contact with Iran\u2019s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi, who has said that Egypt\u2019s potential involvement would make the situation \u201cmore difficult\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cEgypt has sufficient experience to avoid entangling itself in such a highly complex conflict,\u201d Araghchi said in an interview with Iraqi state broadcaster Al-Iraqiya aired on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Throughout this year, as its Gulf allies have come under attack in the war between Iran and the US, Cairo has repeatedly preached caution.<\/p>\n The Arab world\u2019s largest military did not issue a response even when its own Damietta port was struck by an unidentified drone in July.<\/p>\n It has not joined the Mecca defence pact signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan in August, which experts said was in order to maintain its strategic autonomy.<\/p>\n Besides its close alliance with the kingdom, Egypt also has its own economic woes to consider.<\/p>\n Along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt is hardest hit by disruptions through Bab al-Mandab, the southern gateway to its Suez Canal, revenues from which have not recovered since Houthi attacks began in 2023.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nEgypt\u2019s tightrope<\/h2>\n