Saudi Arabia says attempted Mecca drone attack ‘red line’ as Houthis deny claim
The escalation between Yemen’s Houthis and Saudi Arabia comes as the Iranian-backed group reportedly met with US officials in Oman to discuss maritime security.
Saudi Arabia’s air defenses intercepted and destroyed a drone south of the city of Mecca, which it said was launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels late on Tuesday, in the first attack on Islam’s holiest city since the escalation of the conflict between the two sides this month.
What happened: In a statement released on Wednesday, the spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition, Col. Turki al-Maliki, said Saudi air defenses shot down the drone before it entered Mecca's restricted airspace, some 70 kilometers (43 miles) inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea coast in western Saudi Arabia.
Maliki condemned the incident as a “disgraceful act” and an attempt to frighten worshippers and harm civilians, warning that “the security of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims is a red line.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the Saudi Civil Defense activated an emergency alert in Mecca, warning of a “potential danger,” which it did not specify. The warning was later lifted.
The Iranian-backed Houthi group swiftly denied the Saudi accusation that it targeted Mecca, describing the allegation as “fabrications and lies.”
Why it matters: The Houthis have escalated their drone and missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, accusing the kingdom of carrying out airstrikes and firing cruise missiles in Yemen amid heavy fighting between Houthi fighters and Saudi-aligned government forces in southern and western Yemen.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Houthis claimed they fired dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at an Aramco facility in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu, causing fires and damage, as well as at an airbase in the Saudi city of Khamis Mushait.
In a separate statement also released Wednesday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya al-Sareea said that his forces shot down a Saudi Arabia-owned Wing Loong II armed reconnaissance drone as it conducted “hostile operations” in the central province of Marib.
Saudi Arabia did not confirm either attack.
At least 13 civilians were injured in a series of missiles and drones launched by the Houthis toward the Saudi cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif on Monday, according to Maliki.
Last week, the Houthis launched another barrage of missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia, targeting the southern cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran. The attacks injured at least 73 people and led to the temporary halt of operations at some energy facilities.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Yemeni rebels accused the kingdom, which intervened in the Yemeni conflict in 2015 in support of the government, of launching over 450 airstrikes on their positions in Yemen in the past week.
The group also claimed it shot down an F-15 fighter jet operated by the Saudi-led coalition over the central province of Marib. The statement did not provide evidence, nor specify where the incident occurred.
Know more: The escalation comes amid growing concerns over freedom of navigation and the flow of global energy supplies after the Houthis made significant advances along the western Red Sea coast of Yemen overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait over the weekend.
The Houthi group’s acting foreign minister, Abdulwahid Abu Ras, told Al-Monitor’s Adam Lucente in an exclusive interview on Tuesday that the group has no intention of closing the Red Sea and is open to talks, but he did not provide specifics on whom they’d be willing to meet with.
Five unnamed sources told Reuters on Wednesday that US officials met with representatives of Yemen’s Houthis at the US Embassy in Oman’s capital, Muscat, on Sunday.
According to the sources, the Houthis informed the US side during the meeting — which has not been made public — that they do not plan to attack US vessels in the Red Sea and are committed to the 2025 ceasefire with the US.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, US Vice President JD Vance revealed that the US has engaged in “direct conversations” with the Houthi group, without providing details.
The Trump administration designated Yemen’s Houthi group as a foreign terrorist group in January 2025. The two sides reached a ceasefire in May 2025, ending nearly three months of US strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen in response to their attacks against vessels in the Red Sea at the time.
US President Donald Trump told reporters in Dublin on Saturday that the Houthis phoned his administration asking the US not to intervene in Yemen.