The Egyptian parliament, after convening to take up President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s request for authorization to deploy military forces to Saudi Arabia, adjourned after only a few hours yesterday. The body plans to reconvene next week to resume the debate. House Speaker Hesham Badawy adjourned the session after hearing statements from several MPs on the proposed authorization, reported Al Ahram. The proposed authorization requires approval of two-thirds of the parliament’s 596 members. The roll call vote is scheduled for next week.

In a tweet following the news of the adjournment of the session, MP Mostafa Bakhry said that the Egyptian government was pursuing diplomatic efforts to reach a political solution to the Yemen crisis, including discussions between the Egyptian and Iranian foreign ministers on the sidelines of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) foreign ministers’ meeting.

The talks agreed on maintaining communication to advance an initiative calling for an end to hostilities against Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries; safeguarding freedom of navigation and securing maritime routes; and launching a political process leading to negotiations on a settlement, Bakhry said, in a lengthy tweet. Earlier Monday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty had had a call with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, stressing the importance of de-escalation, negotiations, and respect for Gulf security.