CAIRO — In light of the current crisis in Yemen and the control of Sanaa by Houthi armed groups, Egyptian experts predict that Egypt would intervene in the conflict to prevent the Houthis from gaining control of the strait of Bab al-Mandeb on the Red Sea, in defense of Egyptian and Gulf security.

Commander of the Egyptian navy, Osama al-Jundi, openly declared the navy's readiness to protect the country's territorial waters, economic interests and the Egyptian coast in all directions and to deal with any risks that might threaten them.

At the same time, a number of initiatives were launched in an attempt to ward off this war. Egypt and Saudi Arabia both received an invitation from Isaias Afwerki, the Eritrean president, to start negotiations to find a way to maintain the security of the countries along the Red Sea.

Former secretary-general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, issued a joint statement with former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. They called for an Arab initiative to work on restoring the unity of the Yemeni army and mobilizing to restore security. In addition, they would eliminate all usage of weapons in Yemeni cities to move forward with the parliamentary elections.