Cairo: Saudi Arabia accused Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels of trying to attack Islam’s holiest city, as the region responded with condemnation Wednesday but no sign of military support. The kingdom, a key US ally, declared Mecca a “red line” as it slid deeper into the new front of the Iran war.
With the world’s biggest oil exporter under fire from the rebels backed by the Saudis’ regional adversary, the kingdom needs a safe outlet for its crude as well as military assistance. There’s no clear path to either.
A crucial Saudi pipeline has been shut down, reportedly for weeks, after an attack by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. The Houthis have been targeting infrastructure in the kingdom and its shipping on the Red Sea, where they have seized several islands in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. And Iran is still targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices remain above USD 100 a barrel.
The Houthis denied firing drones toward Mecca, about 1,100 kilometres from Yemen’s border. The Saudis said they intercepted and destroyed the drone before it entered the airspace over the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad.
The attacks are the first test of a new defence pact among Saudi Arabia, NATO member Turkey and nuclear power Pakistan. But officials from Turkey and Pakistan told The Associated Press they have not received a Saudi request for support in response to the Houthis’ escalation.
The Turkish official said efforts to “institutionalise” the alliance need to be completed before the pact becomes operational. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.
Amid the condemnation of the attempted attack on Mecca, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country and the Saudis stand “unwaveringly, shoulder to shoulder.”
Turkey’s foreign minister expressed solidarity and said no country can “remain indifferent,” state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Criticism also came from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, representing over 57 Muslim states, which said the attempt violates the “sanctity of holy sites.”
This was the second attempted attack by the Houthis against Mecca after the rebels fired a ballistic missile toward the city in 2017, according to Colonel Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the rebels.
Later on Wednesday, the rebels claimed, without offering evidence, that they shot down an F-15 fighter jet operated by the Saudi-led coalition over Yemen’s central province of Marib.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree didn’t say when it occurred, and The Associated Press could not independently verify the claim. The rebels at times take days to claim attacks.
Spokespeople for the Saudi-led coalition and the Saudi government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The United States has sold billions of dollars in weapons to Saudi Arabia and has committed to providing training and other support to protect the kingdom, but top US officials in recent days have indicated a lack of desire to get involved in the conflict.
“The Houthis called us, and they don’t want to fight with us,” US President Donald Trump said on Saturday, adding that the rebels appear focused on the Saudis.
Vice President JD Vance on Monday said Washington had been in “constant contact” with the Saudis and had been “engaged in direct conversations with the Houthis themselves,” calling it “a very fluid and dynamic thing” to be monitored.
On the ground, forces with Yemen’s internationally recognized government have said they are regrouping to combat the Houthis after fleeing the rebels’ advance. But those forces are a collection of armed groups with varying aims.
The number of Yemeni civilians fleeing the fighting in the Arab world’s poorest country soared once again to over 100,000 people, the International Organization for Migration said, as fears grow over a return to civil war.
While Saudi Arabia appeared to face the choice of pursuing diplomacy or taking the fight to the Houthis, the top diplomat for rival Iran was in China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil.
