A new area of tension is emerging between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, with Riyadh announcing that it intercepted an unmanned aircraft heading towards Mecca’s restricted airspace. Ansarallah categorically denied attempting to strike the holy city, calling the allegation a “lie”, while the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation sided with Saudi Arabia.

Turki al-Malki, spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition that intervened in the Yemen war in 2015, said Saudi air defences intercepted and destroyed a drone on Tuesday which, according to Riyadh, had been launched by the Houthis.

He said the unmanned aircraft was destroyed south of Mecca before entering the restricted airspace of Islam’s holiest city. Al-Malki stressed that the security of Mecca is a “red line” for Saudi Arabia.

The accusation comes amid heightened tensions, with Riyadh blaming the Houthis for a series of missile and drone attacks against Saudi targets in recent days.

Houthis: “A blatant lie”

Ansarallah, more widely known as the Houthis, rejected the accusation that it had targeted Mecca.

“The allegations about the supposed targeting of Mecca are a blatant lie, which has been used in the past and no longer deceives anyone,” Hazem al-Asad, a member of the movement’s political bureau, said on X.

The Houthis have claimed responsibility for other recent attacks on Saudi territory, but deny attempting to strike Mecca or other religious sites.

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation condemns attack

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), for its part, condemned the attacks that Saudi Arabia attributes to the Houthis against Mecca and the Medina region.

In a statement, it described them as “heinous attacks” and expressed its support for Saudi Arabia, noting that such actions “violate the sanctity of the two holy sites and Islamic mosques and offend the sentiments of Muslims around the world”.