The Saudi-led coalition said the security of Islam’s holiest sites was a “red line” and warned of a military response. The group called the accusation a “fabricated lie” being used to justify more coalition airstrikes. Saudi air defences shot down an armed drone south of Makkah before it entered the holy city’s restricted airspace, setting off a difficult question across the region, where did it come from? But the Houthis, the armed movement controlling much of northern Yemen, denied launching the drone. That denial has left the origin of the drone in dispute.
Initial suspicion fell on Yemen, but later intelligence assessments reportedly examined the possibility that the drones had been launched from southern Iraq, where Iran-backed armed groups operate. That does not establish that the Makkah drone came from Iraq. The incident also puts Saudi Arabia’s regional security relationships under scrutiny. Attacks around Saudi energy facilities, the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb shipping route can force commercial vessels onto longer journeys and raise insurance and transport costs. Serious disruption to Saudi oil infrastructure could also affect global crude supplies and fuel prices. Finding out where it actually came from could determine whether this remains an isolated incident or triggers another round of military action in the region.
Days before the Makkah incident, a drone struck Saudi Arabia’s East-West crude oil pipeline.
