'Time not right to challenge Hizballah,' says Sisi as Riyadh accuses Lebanon of declaring war

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made the appeal in an interview with CNBC over the weekend that aired on Tuesday morning.

"The stability of the region is very important and we all have to protect it... I am talking to all the parties in the region to preserve it," Sisi said.

When asked whether it was time to challenge Hizballah, Sisi said: "It's not about taking on or not taking on, it's about the status of the fragile stability in the region in light of the unrest."

The Egyptian president's remarks come as Saudi Arabia said that Lebanon had declared war against the kingdom.

"We will treat the government of Lebanon as a government declaring war on Saudi Arabia due to the aggression of Hizballah," Saudi Gulf affairs minister Thamer al-Sabhan told Al Arabiya TV on Monday

He added that Saad al-Hariri, who announced his resignation as Lebanon's prime minister on Saturday from Riyadh, would not accept the positions of Iran-backed Hizballah.

Saudi Arabia and Iran traded fierce accusations over Yemen on Monday as Riyadh said a rebel missile attack "may amount to an act of war" and Tehran accused its rival of war crimes.

Tensions have been rising between Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and predominantly Shia Iran, which back opposing sides in wars and power struggles from Yemen to Syria.

Relations between Cairo and Riyadh – traditional allies – have warmed recently following a notable downturn last year when Saudi Arabia abruptly suspended oil aid to Egypt just days after Cairo backed a UN Security Council resolution on Syria drafted by Bashar al-Assad's ally Russia.

Egypt is a key member of the Saudi-led bloc that in June severed diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting "terrorists" and being too close to Iran.

However, Egypt has been reluctant to contribute militarily to the Saudi-led coalition in the war in Yemen and take sides in the civil war in Syria.