Saudi Arabia accused the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are backed by Iran, of attempting to attack Makkah City. The region condemned the attack on Wednesday but showed no signs of providing military assistance. As it moved further into the new front of the Iran war, the kingdom, a crucial ally of the United States, proclaimed Makkah a “red line.” The Houthis denied using drones to attack Makkah, which is around 1,100 kilometres from the border with Yemen. Before the drone entered the airspace over the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) birthplace, the Saudis claimed to have intercepted and destroyed it.
The foreign ministry of Saudi Arabia denounced the attack on Makkah as a “cowardly terrorist attack” and reiterated the kingdom’s authority to “defend the security of the two holy mosques, the pilgrims, and the entire Saudi territory.” According to a statement from the foreign ministry, the Gulf kingdom “reaffirms its legitimate right to take all necessary measures to defend the security of the two Holy Mosques, the pilgrims, and the entire Saudi territory, its citizens, and its residents.”
Colonel Turki Al Maliki, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the rebels, stated that this was the Houthis’ second attempt to target Makkah after the rebels launched a ballistic missile against the city in 2017. A Houthi drone south of Makkah was shot down by Riyadh’s air defences on Tuesday before it could enter forbidden airspace over the Holy City. On Wednesday, the Houthis also claimed to have shot down a Saudi fighter jet, saying the aircraft was targeted by locally produced ammunition.The Houthis’ military spokesperson stated, “With Allah’s help and grace, the Yemeni Armed Forces were able to shoot down a Saudi F15 fighter jet while it was conducting hostile operations in support of its military mobilisations in the airspace of Marib province.” The United States reinforced its travel warning for Saudi Arabia, prohibiting government employees from travelling within 20 miles of the Yemeni border, as a symptom of the escalating violence.
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