The Houthi group announces the targeting of Saudi facilities and an air base, and the coalition accuses it of trying to target Mecca

On Wednesday, the Ansar Allah Houthi group in Yemen announced an attack launched by its forces on an air base in Khamis Mushait, in addition to facilities belonging to Aramco in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.

The armed group's forces said in a statement: "We carried out two qualitative military operations, the first targeting the Aramco company in Yanbu with dozens of ballistic missiles and drones, which led to major fires and widespread destruction."

The statement added that the group also targeted Khamis Mushait Air Base with a number of ballistic missiles, “and the hit was accurate,” according to the statement.

Earlier on Wednesday morning, the Houthis announced the downing of a Saudi fighter plane, claiming that it had been targeted with locally manufactured ammunition, at a time when the Saudi-led military coalition announced the downing of a drone launched by the Houthis that was heading towards Mecca, which the Yemeni group denied, describing it as “slanders and lies.”

Houthi spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said in a statement: “The Yemeni armed forces - with God’s help and grace - were able to shoot down a Saudi F-15 warplane while it was carrying out hostile actions in support of its military mobilizations in the airspace of Ma’rib Governorate, with a locally made surface-to-air missile.”

He also explained that the Yemeni group's forces responded to "two Saudi F-15 and Typhoon combat formations in the airspace of Ma'rib Governorate, with local missiles, [as] [these aircraft] were searching for the wreckage of the downed plane, and they were forced to retreat, thanks to God."

Saree accused Saudi Arabia of launching more than 450 air strikes this week, using F-15 and Typhoon aircraft that he said took off from the Khamis Mushait and Taif bases, targeting the governorates of Taiz, Lahj, Al-Jawf, Hajjah, Ma’rib, Saada and Al-Bayda, adding that these raids left civilians dead and wounded.

At the same time, the spokesman for the Ansar Allah Houthi group denied what he described as "slanders and lies" promoted by the ruling Saudi regime that the Houthis tried, on Tuesday, to target Mecca, the holiest place for Muslims.

He said in the statement: “There is no threat from Yemen to the holy sites. Our operations target its [Saudi regime’s] oil facilities and military bases, which are far from the holy sites.”

Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said in a statement published on the X platform: “The Royal Saudi Defense Forces were able to intercept and destroy an enemy drone launched by the terrorist Houthi militia before it entered the restricted airspace of the holy capital, Mecca.”

He added: "This hostile and terrorist attempt is the second attempt to target Mecca after its first attempt by launching a ballistic missile" in July 2017.

He said in his statement, "This can only be described as a disgraceful act and an attempt to terrorize the peaceful guests of the Holy House of God and harm citizens and residents."

He stressed that "the security of the Two Holy Mosques and the guests of God is a red line," stressing "no hesitation in taking the necessary and deterrent measures against the terrorist Houthi militia and its hostile and terrorist behavior."

He added that this attempt will remain a "black stain" on the record of Houthi violations, as it is a deliberate act to arouse the feelings of millions of Muslims.

In the same context, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China urges both Iran and the United States to exercise rationality and restraint, return to the “Islamabad Memorandum,” and “engage in substantive consultations on issues of common concern,” according to what his ministry announced.

"We urge all parties to take effective measures to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible," Wang told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi, who is on a one-day official visit to Beijing.

Wang added that Tehran and Washington must "rebuild the negotiating mechanism based on the consensus reached so far," stressing that Beijing "does not want to see regional tensions extend further to Yemen and the Red Sea."

Wang stressed that China's policy towards Iran has remained firm and stable, and that his country is ready to enhance communication and coordination with Iran.

For his part, the Iranian Foreign Minister stated that Tehran is not interested in continuing the conflict with the United States and looks forward to returning to a diplomatic solution.

He stated that Tehran believes that the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran is still in effect, and that it has reached an agreement with the Sultanate of Oman regarding arrangements for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, calling on Washington at the same time to fulfill its obligations.

The attacks on Saudi Arabia led to turmoil in global energy markets, which are suffering due to the six-month-long war between the United States and Iran, which contributed to a significant slowdown in shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

On the other hand, American officials met with representatives of the Yemeni Ansar Allah Houthi group in the Sultanate of Oman over the weekend - according to five sources familiar with the matter - according to Reuters, days after the Iranian-backed group seized the Bab al-Mandab Strait, in a large-scale attack that inflicted a crushing defeat on the Saudi-backed forces.

Three unidentified sources told Reuters that the unannounced meeting was held at the US embassy in Muscat. Two sources reported that the Omani government, which has long played the role of regional mediator, helped organize this meeting.

The Trump administration designated the Houthis a “foreign terrorist organization” in March 2025, making it a criminal offense to provide support to them.

However, Washington continued to negotiate with them, and reached a ceasefire agreement in May of last year, after bombing the Houthis for two months with the aim of stopping a campaign of attacks targeting shipping traffic in the Red Sea.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the Houthis had made a phone call with his administration, asking the United States not to interfere in the Yemen war.

Vice President J.D. Vance said on Monday that the United States is in direct contact with the Houthis, without elaborating.

Two sources said that the Houthis informed American officials - during the meeting last Sunday - that they have no intention of attacking American ships, and that they are committed to the ceasefire agreement concluded with the United States in 2025.

A Yemeni source said that the Houthis also confirmed that they would not attack Israeli ships or any commercial ships, except for those belonging to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

According to two sources, the American side was represented at the meeting by employees from the embassy.

Two sources confirmed that the Houthi delegation included a prominent official residing in Muscat who is subject to US sanctions, Mohammed Abdul Salam, along with another prominent Houthi official, Abdul Malik Al-Ajri.

On Wednesday, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned what it described as "the sinful attacks launched by the Houthi group against the Holy City of Mecca and the Medina region, and its continued aggression against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

She stressed that "the acts committed by the terrorist Houthi militia that affect sanctities, mosques and civilian objects constitute terrorism that is inconsistent with Islamic values ​​and international norms, principles and laws."

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned, on Wednesday, “in the strongest possible terms” the attack on Mecca, which he described as “cowardly and heinous.”

Sharif said on the “X” platform: “The people of Pakistan feel sad and disturbed by this heinous act.”

Hizam al-Assad, a member of the Houthi political bureau, had previously denied the coalition announcement, describing the Saudi narrative as a “lie.”

He wrote in a post on the

Saudi Arabia had issued weather warnings in the governorates of Jeddah and Taif, and also in the city of Mecca for the first time since the outbreak of the war, before quickly lifting them.

Similar warnings were also issued in the evening in Khamis Mushait Governorate, the city of Abha, and the Jazan region, and their lifting was announced minutes later.

On Wednesday, the United States Embassy in Saudi Arabia renewed its warning recommending that American citizens reconsider traveling to the Kingdom, and not travel to the Saudi-Yemeni border.

A third-level warning text in English on the embassy’s account on the X platform stated: “Do not travel to the border with Yemen due to the danger of terrorism.”

This came after a previous warning from the embassy, ​​on Tuesday, to “reconsider travel” to the Kingdom after Riyadh issued weather warnings in Mecca and other regions in light of the Houthi rebel attacks.

On the other hand, Yahya Saree, the military spokesman for the Houthis, said that the Saudi Air Force “launched 52 air strikes during the past 24 hours” on the governorates of Taiz, Al-Jawf, Al-Bayda, Saada and Amran, stressing that “the brutal Saudi attacks will not go unanswered.”

The Houthis announced several major attacks on Saudi Arabia over the past week, and they also launched an attack on an air base on Monday, which they said was in response to air strikes on Yemen.

Officials in the Saudi-led military coalition reported that the attack on the air base caused the injury of 13 civilians.

Saudi Arabia blamed another pro-Iranian movement, based in Iraq, for an attack that occurred on Friday and disrupted one of the most important oil transportation routes in the Kingdom, the East-West pipeline.

This pipeline is 1,200 kilometers long and connects the Saudi oil fields in the Gulf to the Red Sea, the Kingdom's main export route, while shipping operations through the Strait of Hormuz have been disrupted by the war that has been ongoing for nearly seven months, which has claimed the lives of thousands of people across the region.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a coalition that has been fighting the Houthis since 2015. The conflict had declined to a large extent under the ceasefire in the past few years, but it reignited when the Houthis were able this month to repel forces loyal to the Yemeni government.