🇪🇬🇾🇪🇸🇦 Egypt could be dragged into the war in Yemen. With disastrous consequences for Saudi Arabia.
Brandon Weichert spoke with geopolitical analyst Dimitri Lascaris about the deteriorating situation in Yemen, where the Houthis are expanding their operations and Saudi Arabia is struggling to contain the damage.
Now Egypt could be drawn into the conflict.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has reportedly considered sending troops to defend Saudi Arabia, subject to parliamentary approval.
Lascaris believes Egypt would be taking an enormous risk.
Its economy is under severe pressure, public anger is widespread, and an intervention could trap Egyptian forces in a costly war with no obvious exit.
And more troops wouldn't necessarily solve Saudi Arabia's problem.
The Houthis can strike energy infrastructure deep inside the kingdom. Even a successful ground offensive might not eliminate that threat.
Lascaris warns that a major offensive could also draw Iran and other regional armed groups into the fighting, turning Yemen into a much wider war.
He raised an even more alarming possibility: Saudi Arabia's monarchy could face a genuine survival crisis within the next 6 to 12 months.
We also discussed the Strait of Hormuz, where attacks on commercial shipping threaten oil transportation.
Lascaris argues that protecting tankers means little if Iran can still threaten the ports, pipelines and loading facilities supplying them.
Saudi Arabia may increasingly depend on foreign armies for its security, while those countries have plenty to lose themselves.
And Egypt could discover that defending the kingdom is easier to promise than to accomplish.
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