A Houthi drone was destroyed before entering Mecca’s airspace around sunset on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia reported. It was the latest attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis against Saudi Arabia and indicates their intention to continue escalating the situation.
Saudi Arabian air defenses were able to destroy a drone attempting to enter the air space of the holy city of Makkah in a major escalation by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Saudi Arabia-based newspaper Arab News reported.
“The drone was intercepted at 6:50 p.m. Saudi time on Tuesday south of Mecca, a city visited by millions of Muslims annually,” the report said.
The incident came five days after the Houthis swept down the Red Sea coast and took over islands that guard Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The goal of the Houthis is to send a message to Saudi Arabia that they are dominant. The Houthis want to show that despite Saudi air superiority, they can strike wherever they want.
The threat near Mecca “was a redline,” Maj.-Gen. Turki Al-Malki, spokesperson for the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, said early on Wednesday, Arab News reported. According to Saudi Arabia, “Makkah is Islam’s holiest site, and the act by the Iran-backed group is likely to upset millions of Muslims globally,” the report said.
As such, the attack is symbolic. It was the latest symbol since the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq attacked the important Saudi East-West Pipeline that moves energy supplies to Yanbu, a port city in Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh is now warning that disruptions to oil shipments could affect the global economy.
The East-West pipeline outage could affect the global economy
The incident also came after the commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), Adm. Brad Cooper, visited Jeddah and met with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. MBS, as he is called, then went to Cairo for meetings with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.
This came after reports of a meeting in Germany that included CENTCOM as well as Israeli and Arab officials.
Meanwhile, it was also reported that Israel and Saudi Arabia held talks mediated by CENTCOM that were aimed at helping Riyadh defend itself against the Houthi military through intelligence assistance, a regional diplomat told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
What comes next? The recent drone threat was to Mecca, “one of Islam’s major pillars – the Hajj, a pilgrimage to the city and its holy precincts,” Arab News reported.
Saudi Arabia now says its coalition against the Houthis views this as “a black mark in the record of violations by the terrorist Houthi militia, considered a deliberate act to inflame the feelings of millions of Muslims.”
This was not the first time the Houthis have had a missile shot down around the holy city.
“In 2017, Saudi air-defense forces intercepted a ballistic missile launched toward Makkah by Yemen’s Houthi militia, according to the Arab Coalition command,” Arab News reported. “The Coalition said at the time that the missile was shot down over Al-Wasliya area in Taif province. No damage or injuries were reported.”
The Houthis also harmed 13 civilians in attacks against Saudi Arabia on Monday. Those attacks targeted Khamis Mushait, Abha, and Taif with ballistic missiles.
“Last week, an attack by the militia left more than 70 people injured, including women and children, in various towns and cities across Saudi Arabia,” Arab News reported. “The Kingdom on Friday temporarily shut down its East-West Pipeline after it was targeted in several drone attacks in the Riyadh and Madinah regions.”
The recent attacks will leave Saudi Arabia with a choice. Will it seek to shift things in Yemen and support the Yemen government against the Houthis in a new offensive?
The Houthi attack on coastal areas showed that the government forces are in disarray. The Houthis routed them. Videos online published by the Houthis show them sweeping away the government-backed forces.
Reports now say the Houthis are digging in and building tunnels and trenches to prepare for a counteroffensive.
Meanwhile, it appears oil supplies may be harmed, and prices will rise. That might put pressure on the US and the West. It also might put pressure on Riyadh.
In Iraq, the authorities have not found a suspect in the attacks against the Saudi pipeline. Instead, Iraq’s prime minister is on a tour of Europe.
The Iraqi authorities want to blame a small group for the attacks, which means little will be done against it.