Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has indicated that Egypt stands ready to assist in defending Saudi Arabia from attacks carried out by the Houthi movement in Yemen, a group with documented ties to Iran. The statement has drawn attention to the possibility of broader hostilities across the region.
Speaking at the Egyptian Military Academy, el-Sisi stated that any threat to Saudi Arabia's security or stability would be met with Egyptian opposition, and that troops stood ready to deploy should Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman formally request military support.
A Sunday sitting of Egypt's legislature has been arranged to take up a vote on whether to authorise the deployment of armed forces in support of Saudi Arabia.
Attacks launched from Houthi-controlled territory into Saudi Arabia have been occurring with greater regularity around the same period the proposal was put forward. Reports indicate that an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on 10 October left 13 people dead, among them one American national, though the full account remains unverified.
Four drones were brought down over the Riyadh area, the Eastern Province, and southern parts of the country, according to an official announcement on Saturday. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki stated via X that the interceptions had taken place across those three zones within a matter of hours. Separately, an attack on the Riyadh headquarters of state-owned oil company Aramco on Wednesday left the building with structural damage, though no personnel were reported hurt.
Armed conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi movement traces back to 2014, when Houthi forces took control of Sanaa and drove President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi from power. Backed by a coalition assembled under Saudi leadership, military support for Yemen's internationally recognised government followed.
A UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022 brought a reduction in hostilities, though reports indicate that armed activity picked up again in July, amid an ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.
Houthi forces have maintained a closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — a waterway central to international shipping — with knock-on effects for Saudi oil flows and broader concerns about trade and energy access across the region. According to reporting by a television news network, Iran supplied the Houthis with operational guidance on drone targeting, along with intelligence support and military instruction.
Speaking to reporters on 10 October, President Donald Trump indicated that the possibility of joining Saudi Arabia in taking action against the Houthis following the airport attack had not been ruled out, telling them, "We may. We're going to look at it."
On Tuesday, Trump raised the possibility of Turkey joining military operations against the Houthis, telling reporters he holds President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in high regard and that he plans to put the question of conducting strikes directly to the Turkish president. No strikes against the Houthis have been carried out by the administration since a truce took hold between Washington and the Yemen-based group in May 2025.
