The two leaders stated that “free and secure navigation” through the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf must be secured and promised “forceful” responses to further attacks.
President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi is reported to have assured Crown Prince bin Salman of Egypt's support for Saudi Arabia's actions so far, aimed at the conflicts with Iran and Yemen's Islamist Houthi movement.
The shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea are key to Saudi oil exports. The kingdom has temporarily shut down a major oil pipeline in the country after it was attacked by a drone fired from Iraq, according to Saudi authorities.
