Saudi crown prince seeks Egypt support as Houthi attacks threaten oil flows

Cairo,UPDATED: Sep 16, 2026 09:40 IST

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo on Tuesday as Saudi Arabia seeks support amid intensified attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on its shipping and infrastructure, which have also pushed up global oil prices.

The meeting came as the Houthis made fresh gains in Yemen and strengthened their ability to threaten Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea. In a statement, the crown prince said both sides confirmed "their shared commitment to ensuring freedom and security of maritime navigation" in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, while el-Sissi's office spoke of "Egypt's unwavering position in supporting Saudi Arabia".

Saudi Arabia has largely been facing the Iranian-backed rebels on its own. Over the past week, the Houthis captured more territory in Yemen, while the kingdom's oil network was further exposed by an attack days ago that damaged its biggest pipeline. The strike was reportedly carried out by Iran-allied militias in Iraq. Regional officials said the East-West Pipeline will be largely shut for weeks during repairs, likely taking several million barrels of oil a day off the market.

The Houthi offensive has opened a new front in the wider regional conflict and strengthened Iran's hand at a time when shipping has also come under attack through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. Neither Saudi Arabia nor Egypt announced concrete next steps after the Cairo meeting. While Egypt is unlikely to offer military help, it remains influential in the Arab world and could help gather political backing. It has also played a central role in mediation efforts over the past three years while keeping ties open with all sides, including Iran and its allies.

In recent days, Houthi fighters seized the Red Sea port of Mokha and three strategic islands in and near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Those gains have improved their position to block Saudi shipping, which they have been attacking since late July. The strait links the Red Sea to the open ocean and onward to Saudi Arabia's main oil buyers in Asia.

So far, Saudi Arabia appears to have held back from launching a major military campaign against the Houthis, wary of triggering more attacks on its oil facilities and being drawn back into a full-scale civil war in Yemen. But with attacks continuing, the kingdom now faces a choice between stepping up its military response and seeking a diplomatic solution.

Saudi military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said air defences intercepted and destroyed a drone on Tuesday evening before it entered the airspace over Mecca, Islam's holiest city. He said the security of the holy city is "a red line" and added that Saudi forces will not hesitate to act against "hostile and terrorist behavior". The Houthis denied firing drones towards Mecca.

Saudi Arabia's most important ally, the United States, has been uncertain in its approach. US President Donald Trump appears reluctant to widen an already unpopular and stalled conflict in the region ahead of congressional elections. The United Arab Emirates, once a key partner in the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis, has already withdrawn from the war after friction between its allies in Yemen and Saudi Arabia's allies.

At the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, Yemen's UN Ambassador Abdullah Al-Saadi said Yemen's armed forces were regrouping and regaining control. He called for a UN arms embargo on the Houthis to be enforced and urged the council to condemn the escalation. He asked "whether the international community will accept for one of the world's most important gateways for trade and energy to become a blackmail card in the hands of a transnational terrorist group".

Egypt has also been affected by the Houthi campaign. Attacks on Red Sea shipping during the war in Gaza reduced traffic through the Suez Canal and hit Egyptian revenues. During the Iran war, Saudi Arabia redirected oil exports through the Red Sea, with much of it passing through the Suez Canal or an Egyptian pipeline linking the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. But the shutdown of the East-West Pipeline is likely to sharply reduce or halt those shipments for weeks.

There are limits to what Cairo can do. "I don't think MBS wants troops from Cairo, which he knows would be a very difficult ask," analyst H.A. Hellyer said. Instead, he said, Egypt can offer political backing among Arab countries for any Saudi move against the Houthis. "There's genuine international consensus that the Houthis cannot be allowed to hold a choke point like Bab el-Mandeb hostage," Hellyer said. But he added that some countries remain cautious about working with Saudi Arabia because of past experience in Yemen. The coalition Prince Mohammed assembled in 2015 to fight the Houthis largely broke apart years ago because of internal divisions. "MBS is keenly aware of this and will be trying to make it clear there is a much better plan for going forward," Hellyer said. "It just depends on how many are convinced."

On the ground in Yemen, the Houthi advances have dealt major setbacks to Saudi-backed forces, including the internationally recognised government, and have revived a war that had largely quietened under a 2022 truce. The World Health Organization said more than 500 people were killed in the past week alone, up from nearly 200 the week before, while nearly 94,000 people were displaced.

Save the Children said at least 117 civilians were killed between August 1 and September 9, including 19 children. It said 43 children were killed or wounded in the first week of September, the highest weekly toll it has recorded in a year. "Children are once again paying the highest price for some of the most severe violence the country has seen in years," said the group's Yemen director, Rishana Haniffa.

Anees al Asbahi, a spokesperson for the Houthi-run Health Ministry, said on Tuesday that Saudi airstrikes killed three people, including two children, in Yemen's Taiz province. The Associated Press said it could not independently verify the claim. The Houthis control the capital, Sanaa, and the north and west of Yemen, where most of the population lives. The government and its allies, made up of different militias, control the south and east, including Aden and Yemen's oil fields.

Saudi Arabia began leading an aerial bombing campaign against the Houthis in 2015, but its allies made little progress on the ground. The conflict has killed an estimated 150,000 people and at times pushed Yemen close to famine. With the Houthis expanding their reach, Saudi Arabia is seeking wider backing even as the fighting deepens Yemen's crisis and raises pressure on regional trade and oil flows.

With PTI Inputs

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