Egypt’s defense council pledges “all necessary” support to Saudi Arabia as parliament extends debate on sending troops


President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the head of a round table with military commanders and officials at the National Defense Council meeting at Al-Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi chairs a meeting of the National Defense Council at Al-Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo on Sunday, October 18, 2026. (Photo: Egyptian Presidency)

Egypt's National Defense Council pledged on Sunday "all necessary and possible forms of support" to Saudi Arabia, hours before parliament opened an emergency session on authorizing the deployment of troops abroad.

The council, chaired by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at Al-Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo, resolved to express "full support and complete solidarity" with the kingdom, saying Saudi national security is "inextricably intertwined" with Egyptian and Arab national security, presidency spokesman Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy said in a statement. It also resolved to help Saudi Arabia defend its security and stability and to "safeguard its resources, territorial integrity, and Islamic holy sites," and to intensify diplomatic efforts to calm the region.

The presidency statement did not mention troops. Mostafa Bakry, a member of parliament, wrote on X on Sunday morning that the council had "approved sending the forces and the mission," and that the House of Representatives would meet at 1 p.m. in an emergency session to consider the president's decision to send Egyptian forces to Saudi Arabia "on a defensive mission."

The House, chaired by Speaker Hisham Badawi, met in a closed session but did not finish. It adjourned and extended the debate to sessions on Monday and Tuesday, the Cairo 24 news site reported, and the economic daily Al-Borsa said further sessions could be held. Bakry wrote afterward that the extension was because "a large number" of members had asked to speak, and that a vote on authorizing the president to send forces to Saudi Arabia would likely be held on Tuesday. Three members of parliament told the news site Mada Masr, on condition of anonymity, that the delay after a closed session of nearly three hours came because lawmakers asked to know the details of Egyptian forces' participation in Saudi Arabia rather than rely on the National Defense Council's statement.

Several accounts on X reported during the session that parliament had already approved the deployment. Middle East 24, for example, posted that "approval was granted today." No vote had been taken when the House adjourned, according to Cairo 24 and Bakry.

Under Article 152 of Egypt's constitution, the president cannot send the armed forces on a combat mission outside the country without consulting the National Defense Council and winning the approval of two-thirds of the members of parliament, Anadolu Agency noted, adding that parliament's rules require such a request to be considered in an urgent closed session. Egyptian television host Ahmed Moussa explained the same two steps on X before the session.

Sisi set the process in motion on Saturday in a speech at the Military Academy, The National reported. "It is inconceivable that we would allow Saudi Arabia, its security or stability to be harmed," he said, adding that Egypt would act only if Riyadh asked. "We do not want to fight or attack anyone. We will only defend Saudi Arabia."

The move drew a warning from Sanaa. Yahya al-Raei, speaker of the parliament there, wrote to Badawi on Saturday that "we categorically reject Egypt being dragged" into "the same trench as the takfiri forces and the Israeli occupation entity," and said such a path "would pose a grave danger to its national security," according to The National, which said the letter was carried by Sanaa-based Al Masirah TV. He accused Riyadh of more than 12 years of "aggression and siege" against Yemen.

Attacks on the kingdom have continued. The Saudi-led coalition said it shot down two ballistic missiles fired at Khamis Mushait and three drones over Riyadh and the Eastern Province early on Sunday, The National reported. Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said on Thursday that the Houthis had launched 20 attacks on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport since October 1, and that attacks on Saudi airports had killed 19 people and wounded 364. The deadliest, on October 10 in Riyadh, killed 13 people, including an Egyptian flight attendant, he said.

Egypt is not a member of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement that Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed on August 7, though Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said last week that joining was "under serious consideration," The National reported. Cairo joined a Saudi-led naval coalition on August 13, and in July 2020 lawmakers voted unanimously in a closed session to allow combat missions abroad as fighting in Libya neared Egypt's western border, the paper said.

Kamal al-Salami, a journalist who covers Yemen and the Gulf, wrote on X that the council's approval "does not necessarily mean" that Egyptian forces will begin deploying immediately, calling it "a conditional mandate, not a declaration of war."

Not everyone in Egypt welcomed the idea. "Any member of the House of Representatives who approves sending Egyptian forces to Saudi Arabia should go and enlist, him and his children, and be sent to fight in this battle themselves," wrote an Egyptian X user posting as 3arabawy, whose profile says that under a dictatorship independent journalism becomes a form of activism.

Bakry, for his part, said Egypt had never abandoned its role in protecting Arab national security and that Saudi Arabia is part of Egypt's own national security, Cairo 24 reported, quoting his post on X.

Sources

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