Egypt’s parliament authorized Monday military support for Saudi Arabia to defend against Houthi attacks, following a request from President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

The House of Representatives "approved authorizing President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to take the necessary measures to support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," state newspaper Al-Ahram reported.

The parliament, stacked with supporters of el-Sissi, had held three rare secret meetings on the matter and postponed the vote twice.

The president last week had asked parliament to authorize military support to Saudi Arabia, "if requested."

It was not immediately clear what defensive support could be provided by Egypt, the Arab world's largest military, which boasts hundreds of thousands of active personnel, fighter jets and complex air defenses sourced from countries including the U.S., China, France and Russia.

El-Sissi said Wednesday that his country's support would be to "defend Saudi territory and does not include an attack on Yemen."

"We are talking about defending the land and borders of the kingdom," he said in a speech, adding that the top priority was for a diplomatic solution.

Egypt has undertaken a flurry of diplomatic maneuvers since, with Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty consulting with the so-called R4, which includes members of the Mecca defense pact, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye, which Cairo has not agreed to join.

On Monday, he said he was "talking daily with the Iranians" to push for regional de-escalation.