Egypt's National Defence Council approved a defensive military mission to Saudi Arabia at a meeting chaired by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who requested emergency parliamentary authorization to send forces abroad, as a supertanker struck a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz and a Saudi helicopter crashed near the Yemeni border [3][8][16][28]. Sisi said Egypt would "carry out any measure to protect" Saudi Arabia and act under the guidance of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with the presidency announcing readiness to provide "all necessary and possible forms of support" to defend Saudi security, resources, territorial integrity and Islamic holy sites [3][7]. The National Defence Council said Egypt "stands fully with" Saudi Arabia [19]. Yemen's Presidential Council president Rashad al Alimi praised the move, calling Cairo and Riyadh the two pillars of Arab national security [12]. Egyptian artists Hamada Helal and Sherine Abdel Wahab praised the pledge, with Helal describing Egypt and Saudi Arabia as `مصر والسعودية.. تاريخ واحد ومصير واحد` (Egypt and Saudi Arabia — one history and one destiny) [4].
Analysts read the pledge more narrowly. Political analyst Thomas Bonnie James said converging Houthi pressure on Bab al-Mandeb and economics drove the decision, noting the Suez Canal has lost about $11 billion in revenue since 2023 and that millions of Egyptian workers reside in the kingdom [3]. He said Egypt would focus on air and missile defense, counter-drone operations, naval escort and intelligence sharing rather than deploying troops to Yemen [3]. Military defence analyst Alexandru Hudisteanu said counter-drone and anti-missile support is highly probable and that the request itself is a strategic deterrent move [3]. An Israeli analysis argued that Sisi's pledge is a commitment to defend Saudi Arabia, not to send ground troops into Yemen, citing Egypt's 1960s Yemen experience [41].
Egypt's parliament ended its extraordinary session without a vote, scheduling another for Monday, with Speaker Hesham Badawy promising three or more sessions to hear every MP who requested the floor [11][29]. About 300 MPs asked to speak, and three — Mohamed Abdel Aleem Dawoud of the Wafd Party, Mahmoud Samy of the Egyptian Democratic Party, and Diaa El-Din Dawoud — declared abstentions, the Wafd Party's Dawoud saying he would wait until he sees the full details [29]. MP Mostafa Bakry announced that the National Defence Council had approved sending military forces and defining their mission, though parliamentary approval by a two-thirds majority under Article 152 is still required [15][28]. Houthi-aligned parliamentary speaker Yahya el-Rai urged Egyptian lawmakers to vote against intervention, warning that `Mısır'ın bu yola sürüklenmesi, ulusal güvenliği ve iç istikrarı için ciddi bir tehlike oluşturacaktır` (dragging Egypt into this path would pose a serious danger to its national security and internal stability) [11].
A Saudi AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter crashed in the Najran region near the Yemen border, killing two National Guard officers — the coalition's first military fatalities since fighting resumed in July [1][8]. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki attributed the crash to a technical malfunction [1][8][11]. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the group shot down a Saudi Apache attack helicopter in the same area [1][8][18]. The Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting two ballistic missiles launched toward Khamis Mushait and four drones over Riyadh, the Eastern Province and southern Saudi Arabia [6][25].
Yemen's armed forces said it carried out 1,417 strikes against Houthi targets over 24 hours, claiming around 800 fighters killed or wounded [6]. Houthi media reported that Saudi strikes killed 12 people in Yemen including three children, and Saree said Saudi warplanes carried out 53 airstrikes over 24 hours, accusing the strikes of hitting civilian sites and causing casualties including women and children [6][8]. Saudi Civil Defense reported a Houthi projectile struck a residential area in Najran, injuring six citizens and damaging three homes and three vehicles [22][17].
Houthi chief negotiator Mohammed Abdel Salam presented the fighting as a response to the blockade, saying Sanaa accepted an Omani-proposed five-day truce conditional on humanitarian demands and that Riyadh replied about 21 days later without movement on the blockade [17][30][31]. Houthi official Mohamed al-Bukhaiti warned other states against military intervention on Saudi Arabia's side and said attacks will continue until the blockade is lifted and ships can access Houthi-held ports [17]. The Sanaa negotiating delegation said Oman contacted the group days after a July bombing of Sanaa airport that the rebels blamed on Saudi Arabia [31].
In the Strait of Hormuz, the IRGC Navy reported that a second supertanker carrying over 2 million barrels of crude exploded after hitting a naval mine, saying the vessel had shut off GPS and radar and used an "illegal" route with US military support [2][6][16]. The IRGC declared the strait closed and warned that violators face consequences for relying on the "terrorist US military" [6]. Taiwan's Central News Agency reported Tehran's attribution that the tanker was navigating an unauthorised route [38]. The UK Maritime Trade Operations office recorded separate attacks on two ships near the Saudi coast — one hit by an unknown projectile, another attacked by a small boat with a rocket launcher [16]. A legal-analysis piece argued that the Houthis' authority to impose a binding blockade on neutral shipping is unresolved, that a lawful blockade must meet effectiveness, notification and impartiality requirements, and that commercial trade with Saudi Arabia does not by itself turn every merchant ship into a military objective [35].
The Gulf Cooperation Council's ministerial statement from Manama condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, backed Riyadh's right to self-defence, called for tighter arms restrictions and a terrorist designation for Ansarullah, and accused Iran of missile and drone attacks on GCC states and Jordan [21][26]. The council asked the UN Security Council to require Iran to compensate damages and called for guarantees for navigation through Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea [26]. The Security Council adopted a presidential statement recognizing Saudi Arabia's right to self-defense under international law [14]. France announced plans to send military personnel, radars and defense systems to protect the Saudi oil port of Yanbu [17]. The United Kingdom sent an RAF Voyager aircraft for air-to-air refueling amid legal questions over complicity in the Yemen war, and the UAE agreed to resume funding for southern anti-Houthi forces in exchange for Saudi air protection [11][14].
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a Manama press conference that `وضعیت در خاورمیانه در آستانه یک جنگ تمامعیار قرار دارد` (the Middle East is on the brink of all-out war), called Trump's approach to Iran wrong, and said the Islamabad US-Iran memorandum contains all elements needed to return the Strait of Hormuz to a diplomatic path [9][23]. Lavrov and Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah called for rapid de-escalation of Gulf tensions, and Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Russia is ready for constructive cooperation with Yemen's official authorities and other influential political forces, warning against drawing new participants into the confrontation [5][42]. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected US coercion while keeping a seven-day Hormuz reopening proposal on the table [20]. Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussed de-escalation with his Saudi counterpart and called for restarting US-Iran negotiations [11][13]. UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council that "gains on the battlefield cannot substitute for the negotiations that will be required to settle the conflict" [32].
A reported phone call between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed potential military action against Iran [6]. The USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier returned to the Arabian Sea, and the United States maintains a naval blockade on Iran that has reduced its oil sales and foreign-currency revenues [6][27]. Iran's defence minister Mehrdad Akhlaghi warned that any renewed US military attack would cause "enormous damage" to Washington and its regional allies [20]. The US rejected Saudi Arabia's call to launch attacks on the Houthis but provides intelligence and data to help with target selection [11].
Brent crude touched $109.86, with at least nine ships attacked near Hormuz since Sunday and crude flows through the strait at about 70% of pre-war levels [33]. Chinese analyst Qin Tian said attacks on commercial vessels drove tanker freight rates to record highs and raised insurance costs [6]. Korean shipowners are paying war-risk premiums up to ten times peacetime levels, with Financial Supervisory Service data showing increases of 200% to 1,000% [39]. The IMF estimates Iran's economy will shrink 7.6% in 2026, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE projected at -3.3% and -3.9%, while Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain contract by more than 10% [27]. In Africa, Tanzania and Malawi saw fuel prices rise around a third and South African diesel rose 40%, with governments responding with tax cuts and minimum-wage rises [37]. In Brazil, Petrobras president Magda Chambriard announced a diesel increase, saying `Novas medidas podem ser tomadas a qualquer momento` (new measures can be taken at any moment) [40].
UN agencies and aid groups warn of a humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen. More than 200,000 people have been displaced since August, and 800,000 are cut off from food assistance [32][34]. WFP Country Director El-Khidir Daloum said the loss of access to food assistance "can rapidly spiral into a humanitarian catastrophe" [34]. ICRC officials said front-line hospitals run short of surgical supplies and that Yemen's health system "may have little capacity left to absorb a major surge in casualties" [34]. A Yemeni rights organisation said the Houthi blockade on Taiz affects more than 2.5 million people and violates international humanitarian law [36]. Save the Children International told the Security Council that children are being hit as they flee [32].
Egypt's parliament is scheduled to continue sessions on the deployment authorization, with the vote requiring a two-thirds majority under Article 152 [28][29]. Iran's seven-day Hormuz reopening proposal remains on the table, with Tehran reviewing comments the United States shared on it [20]. The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed the release of 159 pro-government fighters by the Houthis [25].