Egypt's Sisi: Military support for Saudi Arabia excludes attacking Yemen

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stated on Wednesday that any Egyptian military support for Saudi Arabia would be defensive in nature and limited to protecting the kingdom's territory and borders, explicitly ruling out an attack on Yemen. The comments came as Egypt's parliament delayed a vote until October 26 on authorizing the deployment of armed forces to support Saudi Arabia following recent Houthi attacks. Sisi also indicated that Egypt would defend the territory of any other Arab country if requested, emphasizing that its military efforts would not extend beyond Egypt or fellow Arab states whose security it sought to protect. He described Egypt's support for Gulf states as an extension of shared Arab national security. The Houthis have recently targeted Saudi energy facilities and infrastructure, and have also blockaded the Bab al-Mandab Strait.