What help can Egypt offer Saudi Arabia in the war against the Houthis?

Egypt’s parliament is convening connected Sunday aft President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi requested an emergency session to o.k. antiaircraft subject assistance to Saudi Arabia, if Riyadh asks for enactment successful its warfare with Yemen’s Houthis.

The petition comes arsenic the Iran-backed equipped radical continues attacks connected Saudi Arabia, including the capital, Riyadh, and its airports and lipid facilities.

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El-Sisi declared that Egypt volition “carry retired immoderate measurement to protect” Saudi Arabia, successful a code connected Saturday, but said that helium “hopes” the parliament volition springiness him authorisation to proceed.

On Sunday, Egypt said it would supply “all indispensable and imaginable enactment to Saudi Arabia to support its information and stability”. The National Defence Council, chaired by President el-Sisi, said it “stands afloat with” Saudi Arabia to support its resources, territorial integrity and Islamic beatified sites.

But what would Egyptian assistance look like? And what capableness does it person to “protect” Saudi Arabia successful its warfare with the Houthis?

Here is what we know.

What’s down el-Sisi’s determination to connection assistance to Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Arabia has agelong been a strategical and economical spouse of Egypt, and el-Sisi said successful a statement past period that Saudi information is “integral” to Egypt’s security.

Political expert and Gulf studies adept Thomas Bonnie James told Al Jazeera that the Houthi information menace to the kingdom is 1 of the “converging” pressures that person led to this decision. The different one, is economics.

“Houthi unit connected [Bab] al-Mandeb threatens the Suez Canal, which Egypt’s overseas curate says has mislaid astir $11bn since the attacks began successful 2023,” helium said, referring to Houthi attacks connected Israeli-linked ships passing done the constrictive strait, carried retired successful solidarity with Gaza.

James suggested that the determination is besides important to Cairo, due to the fact that “millions of Egyptians unrecorded and enactment successful Saudi Arabia, which is Egypt’s largest azygous root of remittances. An Egyptian nonmigratory was killed, and others were injured successful the attacks connected Riyadh’s airport.”

He besides said that Egypt does not privation to beryllium seen arsenic the determination state that “stood speech portion others defended the kingdom,” arsenic Turkiye and Pakistan person made their ain pledges aft activating the Mecca defence pact signed successful August amid the deteriorating information concern successful the Middle East.

What’s the latest connected the Yemen war?

Hostilities successful Yemen proceed to escalate. Two aerial raids by the Saudi-led conjugation deed Hodeidah successful the southwest connected Sunday.

Saudi forces besides intercepted drones adjacent Riyadh and Eastern provinces. The capital’s King Khalid planetary airdrome has travel nether onslaught astatine slightest 20 times since warring flared betwixt the internationally recognised authorities and the Houthis, besides known arsenic Ansar Allah – Arabic for Supporters of God.

The Saudi-backed forces are warring the Houthis connected respective fronts, including Taiz and Marib, and immoderate analysts reason the Houthis are stretched bladed aft their summertime gains.

But James told Al Jazeera “that defeating them outright is simply a gangly order”.

“Ground forces backed by aerial powerfulness tin retake the coastline; stopping missiles launched from the mountains is overmuch harder,” helium said.

When volition the Egyptian parliament convene?

They volition beryllium convening connected Sunday astatine 1pm section clip (10am GMT).

Under the Egyptian law, the President cannot state warfare oregon nonstop the subject connected overseas missions without the support from the parliament.

For the authorisation to beryllium granted, astatine slightest two-thirds of the politicians successful the House of Representatives indispensable ballot successful favour of the proposal.

Does Egypt person information practice with Saudi Arabia?

Not exactly. Egypt and Saudi Arabia person not signed a ceremonial bilateral oregon multilateral pact connected defence cooperation. But Cairo has a agelong past of practice with Riyadh.

Egypt is simply a founding subordinate of the Multinational Maritime Defense Coalition, which Saudi Arabia launched successful July. It aims to support shipping successful the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb – territories connected Yemen’s coastline. Houthis captured towns and cities adjacent Bab al-Mandeb past month, but the internationally recognised authorities has since wrested power of immoderate of the areas from the Iran-backed group.

Egypt besides participated successful associated subject exercises with Saudi Arabia successful 2024.

Cairo was besides portion of a 2015 coalition, cobled unneurotic aft the Houthi radical captured ample areas of northbound and occidental Yemen, including the superior Sanaa successful September 2024. Egypt contributed naval and aerial forces to assistance unafraid maritime corridors successful the Red Sea against the Houthis.

But James, the Gulf studies expert, told Al Jazeera that what el-Sisi is proposing is antithetic from the maritime defence conjugation Egypt precocious joined.

“He is hoping for authorisation to deploy Egyptian forces to assistance support Saudi territory itself,” helium said. “It would determination Egypt from a multilateral maritime model to a bilateral subject commitment.”

What volition beryllium the quality of Egyptian assistance to Saudi Arabia?

El-Sisi explicitly said that helium is lone proposing “defence” and that helium isn’t “speaking successful bid for america to combat anyone oregon onslaught anyone”.

Military Defence Analyst Alexandru Hudisteanu said that the usage of counter-drones and anti-missile enactment is simply a precocious probability if the determination is authorised.

“It would beryllium the astir urgent request astatine this constituent to marque definite that the defence of Saudi Arabia is backed up and reinforced,” helium told Al Jazeera.

Simultaneously, helium added that the petition itself is besides a strategical determination of deterrence.

“We cognize Saudi Arabia has 1 of the astir prolific militaries retired determination successful presumption of capacities and capabilities. It’s a substance of the territory which Saudi Arabia needs to screen astatine immoderate fixed moment,” Hudisteanu said.

James said that immoderate publication by Egypt would absorption connected the extortion of Saudi territory, utilizing “air and rocket defence astir captious infrastructure, intercepting drones, naval escort and quality sharing”.

James said that it is improbable Egypt volition deploy troops to Yemen’s beforehand lines.

In the 1960s, erstwhile Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser deployed tens of thousands of troops successful the Yemen Civil War. Saudi Arabia backed the rival side. Egypt suffered dense casualties and Saudi-Egyptian ties were strained.

“What Egypt volition not privation is to nonstop troops into Yemen. Nasser’s involution determination successful the 1960s sends a wide message: support the kingdom, don’t instrumentality ownership of Yemen,” helium told Al Jazeera.