Saudi Arabia says it destroys Houthi drone near Mecca

Saudi Arabia said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone headed toward Mecca on Tuesday evening, sharply escalating tensions around Islam’s holiest city as Yemen’s rebels denied targeting the site and accused Riyadh of spreading “fabrications and lies.”

Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen, said the drone was destroyed south of Mecca before entering restricted airspace. He described the alleged targeting of the city, home to Islam’s most sacred shrine and the focal point of the Hajj pilgrimage, as a “disgraceful act” and warned that the security of the two holy mosques and pilgrims is a “red line.”

Saudi authorities issued brief security alerts Tuesday for incoming projectiles in several western areas, including Mecca, Taif and Jeddah, the kingdom’s second-largest city. Al Jazeera reported that the Mecca alert was the first in nearly a decade and was lifted after a few minutes.

The Houthis, an Iran-backed armed group that controls much of western Yemen, rejected the Saudi account. “There is no threat whatsoever from Yemen to the holy sites. Our operations target their oil facilities and military bases, and are far removed from the holy places,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said. A Houthi military source also told Yemen’s SABA news agency: “We categorically deny that there is any threat from Yemen directed at the city of Mecca or any other holy sites.”

Sarea said the Houthis had launched drones and missiles at Saudi Arabia in retaliation for more than 450 Saudi air strikes on their territory over the past week. He also claimed the group had shot down a Saudi fighter jet over Marib province. NPR reported that the Houthis offered no evidence for the aircraft claim and that The Associated Press could not independently verify it. The Saudi-led coalition did not immediately respond to that claim.

The 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation condemned attacks on Mecca and Medina province, where Islam’s second holiest shrine is located, as an “unacceptable and intolerable transgression.” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the alleged attempt and said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia stand “unwaveringly, shoulder to shoulder.” Officials from Turkey and Pakistan told The Associated Press they had not received any Saudi request for military support under a new defense pact, NPR reported.

The latest confrontation comes as the Houthis have seized large areas of Yemen’s Red Sea coast from Saudi-backed forces. Last week, they captured the strategic port city of Mokha and Perim Island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the southern gateway to a shipping route linking Asia and Europe through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. The Houthis say they pose no threat to international shipping but have said they will target vessels from Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is also dealing with disruptions to its energy routes. The BBC reported that the kingdom’s East-West Pipeline was closed after being badly damaged in a strike Riyadh blamed on Iran-backed militias in Iraq. Some experts said repairs could take more than a month, while U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright predicted Tuesday that oil could flow through it within days.

The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia issued a “reconsider travel” advisory, warning that Houthi attacks had targeted cities, infrastructure, airports, military bases, diplomatic facilities and energy facilities. U.S. officials signaled reluctance to enter the fighting directly. President Donald Trump said Saturday, “The Houthis called us, and they don’t want to fight with us,” while Vice President J.D. Vance said Washington was in “constant contact” with the Saudis and had held “direct conversations with the Houthis themselves.”

At the United Nations Security Council, Yemen’s government and Saudi Arabia called for stronger action against the Houthis, accusing them of choking the Bab al-Mandab Strait to apply economic pressure. Council members agreed that freedom of navigation in the Red Sea must be maintained to avoid disruption to global supply chains.

The renewed fighting has worsened Yemen’s humanitarian crisis. The International Organization for Migration says more than 90,000 people have been displaced by recent fighting. “Families are being forced to flee for the second or third time in this conflict, with almost nothing left,” IOM Director General Amy Pope warned last week. The World Health Organization said at least 500 people had been reported killed since the start of August, including 297 in the previous week.