‘Houthis’ warn Egypt against military support to Saudi, Cairo stresses de-escalation

Egypt could serve as a mediator to broker peace in Yemen rather than entangling itself in military arrangements, a senior Houthi official told Al Manassa, after Egyptian lawmakers authorized defensive military support for Saudi Arabia amid escalating regional strikes.

The statement follows a vote on Monday by a majority of Egypt’s House of Representatives authorizing President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to take any necessary measures to back and defend Riyadh following bilateral coordination, against the backdrop of an intensifying regional crisis.

Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti, a member of the political bureau of Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, told Al Manassa that Saudi Arabia does not need defenders, asserting that Riyadh only needs to heed Yemeni demands to end the war and lift the blockade on both sides.

"We had hoped that the Egyptian parliament would take a clear stance preventing the Egyptian government from becoming entangled in supporting Saudi Arabia in any form," he said.

Al-Bukhaiti characterized the kingdom as the aggressor that launched the intervention against Yemen in 2015, breached the de-escalation accord, and insists on prosecuting the conflict and the blockade while rejecting peace.

"From this standpoint, any military participation by any country alongside Saudi Arabia, even if defensive, amounts to taking part in the war on Yemen, as long as it supports the aggressor, which is unbecoming of Egypt's standing and history," Al-Bukhaiti added.

The official stance of the Sanaa-based administration, he stressed, was delivered by the head of the Supreme Political Council, Mahdi Al-Mashat, who threatened sanctions against anyone siding with the Saudi adversary in the aggression against Yemen, citing Yemeni law on designating hostile states, entities, and individuals. 

Al-Bukhaiti declined to clarify the specific penalties stipulated under the legislation enforced across Ansar Allah-held territory.

An informed Egyptian diplomatic source told Al Manassa on condition of anonymity that Cairo made sure from the outset to explain its actions and de-escalation efforts to all relevant parties.

The diplomat said that prior to the parliament’s mandate, Egypt conveyed messages to all sides emphasizing that its primary course remains a political settlement, and that Cairo is not prepared to enter a war or launch attacks against any party. 

The source stressed that those communications had reached their intended recipients across several operational channels.

The remarks arrive amid mounting regional friction over the past two days, sparked by intensified Ansar Allah ballistic missile and drone strikes targeting government and petroleum facilities deep inside Saudi territory. 

The cross-border barrages struck the Ministry of Defense headquarters and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the Ras Tanura oil refinery, and pumping stations along the critical East-West crude export pipeline.

In response, the Saudi-led military coalition conducted airstrikes targeting ballistic missile launch pads and storage depots in Sanaa.

The escalation coincides with stalled talks hosted by Tehran aimed at defusing regional tensions, which included delegations from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan. 

The impasse followed Iran’s rejection of mediation proposals presented by Qatar, alongside Tehran’s refusal to demonstrate flexibility regarding its nuclear dossier.

Facing these crosscurrents, Cairo pursued parallel diplomatic tracks to calm the confrontation, including intensive calls by Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey.

According to successive foreign ministry statements, Egyptian officials focused their efforts on rallying collective coordination to prevent the region from sliding into a more dangerous phase, pushing for peaceful remedies and de-escalation over armed conflict.

Egypt additionally agreed with Saudi Arabia and Turkey to sustain close coordination under a four-party ministerial mechanism that includes Pakistan, aiming to address the fallout of the crisis on Arab and regional security.