Egypt's parliament has authorised President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to take "all necessary measures" to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against Yemen's Houthis

Egypt's parliament on Monday authorised President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to take "all necessary measures" to help Saudi Arabia defend itself, a decision that could draw Cairo more directly into the conflict between the kingdom and Yemen's Iran-allied Houthis.

At least two-thirds of the chamber voted in favour, according to a parliamentary statement shared with Reuters by members of the house.

Request tied to Red Sea risk

Sisi had asked lawmakers to approve military support for Egypt's Gulf Arab ally, the world's biggest oil exporter, should Riyadh seek help against the Houthis. Their advances also threaten the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea and to Egypt's Suez Canal.

The vote had been put off the previous week while Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and intelligence chief Hassan Rashad travelled to Riyadh to hand Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a letter from Sisi. In it, the Egyptian leader made clear that his country's backing would be confined to defending Saudi territory and borders and would not extend to attacking Yemen.

Abdelatty said afterwards that Cairo favoured exploring "every opportunity" to settle the Yemen conflict through diplomacy.

Houthi appeal to Cairo

Yahya Ali al-Rai, speaker of the Houthi-run House of Representatives in Yemen, urged the Egyptian parliament last week to reject the proposal. He said it would threaten Egypt's own national security and internal stability.

Egypt has often condemned Iranian and Iranian-backed attacks on Gulf states but has not publicly taken part in direct combat. Nor has it joined the Mecca mutual defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, signed in August. Senior officials from those three countries were in Tehran on Monday, meeting Iranian leaders in an effort to defuse the conflict.

Egypt, the Arab world's most populous state, with one of the region's largest militaries, joined the Saudi-led coalition in an earlier phase of the Yemen war in March 2015. It acted mainly as a naval partner, sending warships to secure Red Sea shipping lanes, and deployed about 800 ground troops who played only a limited combat role.