Egypt's parliament authorised the country's military on Monday to provide support to help defend Saudi Arabia against escalating Houthi attacks, parliamentarians said and local media reported — a move that could push Cairo directly into the regional conflict, Reuters reported. The vote completes the authorisation President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi first requested on October 17; it was debated in closed sessions on October 18 and 19 and then postponed to October 26. No deployment was announced in the reporting opened for this article, and the authorisation remains conditional: Sisi asked for approval to defend Saudi Arabia if Riyadh requests help, Reuters reported.
What exactly did parliament authorise?
Support to help defend Saudi Arabia, on request. Parliament authorised Egypt's military on Monday to provide support to help defend the kingdom, parliamentarians said and local media reported, according to Reuters. Sisi had asked parliament last week to approve defending Egypt's Gulf Arab ally and the world's biggest oil exporter if Riyadh requests help against the Houthis, whose advances also threaten the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait — a gateway to Egypt's Suez Canal, Reuters reported. The limits Cairo has stated are defensive: Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad travelled to Riyadh on Wednesday to deliver a letter to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from Sisi, who said Egypt's support would be limited to defending Saudi territory and borders rather than attacking Yemen, Reuters reported. Abdelatty said after that visit that Cairo advocates exploring "every opportunity" to resolve the Yemen conflict diplomatically.
How big is the disruption Egypt is responding to?
Large enough to nearly empty Riyadh's skies. About 86% of scheduled flights at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, or 4,071 out of 4,736, were cancelled between October 8 and October 25, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium data reported by Reuters on Monday. The Houthis have stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia this month, targeting airports, ports and oil facilities with ballistic missiles and drones, and Riyadh's airport — the kingdom's second-busiest after Jeddah — has been struck repeatedly, including an attack on October 10 that killed 13 people, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade, Reuters reported. Saudi authorities partially reopened the airport on Sunday, but the Houthis said they had attacked it again on Monday, calling it a "military target." Across Saudi Arabia, more than 7,800 flights, or 45% of all scheduled departures, were cancelled in the same October 8–25 period, with cancellations exceeding 60% nationwide at the October 12 peak, Reuters reported. International airlines have suspended services to the Saudi capital into November, and Delta Air Lines has postponed the launch of its Riyadh route until next year.
Is Egypt joining the Mecca Pact?
Not on the reporting opened for this article. Egypt has frequently condemned Iranian and Iranian-backed attacks on Gulf countries but has not publicly engaged in direct combat or joined the Mecca mutual defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey that was signed in August, Reuters reported. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said this month that Egyptian membership in the pact remains "under serious consideration." Monday's authorisation is a separate, bilateral step: it rests on Sisi's request and Saudi Arabia's position as a major political and financial partner of Cairo, providing billions of dollars in aid, deposits at the central bank and energy supplies under Sisi, Reuters reported. The Saudi crown prince visited Sisi in Cairo on September 15 to discuss security and navigation in the Red Sea after the fighting in Yemen reignited.
What is Egypt's history in Yemen's wars?
A limited one in the current war, and a costly one two generations ago. Egypt, the Arab world's most populous state with one of the region's largest militaries, joined the Saudi-led coalition in an earlier phase of Yemen's war in March 2015 mainly as a naval partner, sending warships to secure Red Sea shipping lanes while pledging air support; it also deployed around 800 ground troops but played only a limited combat role, Reuters reported. Egypt was involved in a costly military intervention in Yemen in the 1960s and has not undertaken a large-scale foreign ground deployment since the 1991 Gulf War. Fighting between the Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's internationally recognised government and the Houthi militia, which controls the capital Sanaa, has escalated in recent weeks, becoming a volatile front in the US-Israeli war on Iran, Reuters reported. The Houthis have attacked Riyadh's international airport and the state oil giant Saudi Aramco, disrupting flights and oil exports, while aid agencies have warned of worsening conditions in Yemen, Reuters reported. Oil markets stayed elevated on that risk on Monday morning even as prices slipped from Friday's near six-month highs (see the snapshot box).
This report is drawn from Reuters' October 26, 2026 reporting on the parliamentary authorisation, opened and read in full on reuters.com and via the verbatim carrier ktwb.com, Reuters' October 26, 2026 Cirium-data report on Saudi flight cancellations, opened and read in full on reuters.com, and Reuters' October 26 oil report via TBS News, opened and read in full. The authorisation is reported as parliamentarians and local media described it to Reuters; no deployment announcement or formal Saudi request appeared in any source opened, and the defensive limits stated are Sisi's, as reported by Reuters. Market figures are Monday-morning snapshots checked at publish time; they are not live prices and are not financial advice.
