Cairo - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi yesterday said the army will come to the defence of Gulf Arabs if they face any direct threats.
Sisi said in response to a question on US sanctions on Iran: “Instability affects us all and any state that has instability affects all of us.”
Sisi’s Egypt is aligned with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, joining their boycott of Qatar last year and opposing Iran’s regional influence.
“Our Arab peoples must remain aware and have true consciousness of what the region is going through,” Youm7 newspaper quoted him as saying.
“We stand by our brothers in the Gulf wholeheartedly and if Gulf security is directly threatened by anyone, the Egyptian people, even before their leadership, will not accept that and will mobilise forces to protect their brethren.”
He was speaking on the sidelines of the 2018 World Youth Forum in Sharm el-Shaikh, which concluded yesterday.