Saudi Coalition Downs Houthi Drone Near Mecca: Safety of Holy Sites Is a “Red Line”

Saudi Arabia’s air defenses shot down a Houthi drone south of Mecca on Tuesday evening before it could enter the no-fly zone over the holy city, coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki announced early Wednesday.

“The security of Islam’s two holiest sites and of pilgrims is a red line,” al-Malki said in a statement, adding that the coalition would take “the necessary preventive measures” against the Houthis. According to the spokesman, this was the Houthis’ second attempt to target Mecca since a ballistic missile launch in July 2017.

Houthi officials denied the claim. Mohammed al-Farah, a member of the group’s political bureau, called it a “blatant lie,” according to the Houthi-controlled SABA news agency. Saudi Arabia issued security alerts in Mecca and several other cities on Tuesday, after a week of attacks by the Iran-backed fighters.

The incident comes as the six-month U.S.–Iran war has reduced shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to a minimum, while the Houthis have taken control of parts of Yemen’s Red Sea coast above Bab el-Mandeb, threatening Saudi oil exports rerouted from Hormuz.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has blamed a separate pro-Iranian movement based in Iraq for Friday’s attack that knocked out the 1,200-kilometer East-West pipeline — the kingdom’s main oil export route while Hormuz remains disrupted. Traders warn that a prolonged closure could cut up to 4 percent of global oil supply. The kingdom has not said when operations might resume, but U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Tuesday that oil should flow again within days.

Source: Reuters