Saudi air defences intercepted Houthi missiles and drones launched towards Riyadh, Mecca and other regions on Wednesday, as hostilities between the Iran-aligned Yemeni group and the kingdom worsened.
The Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Yemeni group said it had intercepted and destroyed three cruise missiles headed to the Riyadh region, two drones aimed at Mecca and southern areas, and two missiles pointed towards the west. Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki Al-Maliki said no casualties or damage were reported.
Wednesday’s interceptions marked the second consecutive day that Saudi air defences had intercepted Houthi missiles launched towards Riyadh, after they brought down a ballistic missile and a cruise missile on Tuesday, the coalition said. The Houthi group had claimed on Tuesday to have carried out four military operations using ballistic missiles and drones against Saudi targets.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree later denied that the group had targeted Mecca with a drone, a claim that has become a sensitive point in the conflict, given the holy city’s status. The coalition’s account of the interceptions, including the drones aimed at Mecca and the southern areas, was carried by the Reuters news agency.
The latest attacks follow a series of Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia since July 2026, which intensified in October. Earlier this month, Houthi missiles damaged a tower in Riyadh’s financial district, and the group has claimed strikes on airports and military sites, as well as on shipping in the Gulf.
The escalation has unfolded against the backdrop of the wider regional conflict. The United States and Iran have been at war since February, and the fighting has redrawn alliances across the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis drawn back into open confrontation. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in August, under which an attack on any signatory is treated as an attack on all.
On the same day as the interceptions, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed a deal for 3,000 megawatts of wind power at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, a reminder that the kingdom is pressing ahead with its economic plans even as the security situation deteriorates.
The coalition did not say whether Wednesday’s interceptions had disrupted flights or daily life in Riyadh or Mecca, and there were no reports of damage on the ground. Saudi officials have repeatedly said the kingdom’s air defences are capable of dealing with the Houthi threat, but the frequency of the attacks — two days running against the capital — underlines how persistent it has become.
For the Houthis, the strikes are part of a campaign that has targeted Saudi Arabia, shipping in the Red Sea and, they say, Israel, in support of their allies in the region. For Riyadh, they are a reminder that the war in Yemen, which had quieted in recent years, has returned to the kingdom’s skies.
It was not immediately clear whether further attacks would follow, or whether the coalition would respond with strikes of its own. What is clear is that, after a second day of interceptions over Riyadh, the confrontation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has entered a more intense phase.
