Egypt says it is ready to give Saudi Arabia “all necessary and possible forms of support” to defend its security, territory, resources and Islamic holy sites.
The announcement followed a meeting of Egypt’s National Defence Council, chaired by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Cairo is now seeking parliamentary authorisation for possible military assistance, which would apply only if Riyadh formally requests it.
The pledge came shortly after the Saudi coalition said an AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter belonging to the Ministry of National Guard crashed in the Najran region near the Yemen border. Both crew members died. Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki blamed a technical malfunction and said the aircraft went down inside Saudi territory.
The Houthis tell a different story. Military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed Houthi forces shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter near Najran while it was operating against Houthi positions along the border. The coalition has not said whether this is the same aircraft that crashed, so the two accounts remain unreconciled.
The crash caused the first confirmed military deaths for the coalition since fighting resumed in July, when a fragile truce that had lasted four years collapsed. Last week, a Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 13 people, including a Pakistani national, and wounded 11 others. It was the deadliest attack inside Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.
Saudi air defences remain under strain. The coalition says it intercepted two drones over Riyadh and one over the Eastern Province, a major oil producing region. It also reported intercepting two ballistic missiles reportedly aimed at Khamis Mushait in the south. The Houthis have declared a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia and expanded their control around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a Red Sea passage used by global shipping and Saudi oil exports.
Egypt’s support matters because its armed forces are among the largest and most capable in the Arab world. Sisi said any deployment requires parliamentary approval, and an emergency session is scheduled to vote. The move shows Cairo positioning itself as a guarantor of Saudi security as Houthi attacks and threats to Red Sea trade grow.
The war is no longer confined to Yemen. Drones and missiles are reaching Riyadh, oil infrastructure is under threat, and Bab al-Mandeb is increasingly militarised. The conflict could draw in more regional powers and disrupt energy supplies and international shipping.
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