Houthis claim strike on Aramco refinery and airbase in Saudi Arabia, deny Mecca attack | Gravitas

The hostilities between Houthis and Saudi Arabia reached a dangerous level, with Islam's holiest city reportedly on the radar. Saudi Arabia claimed to have intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone before it could enter Mecca. While the Iran-backed group denied this claim, it announced fresh attacks on Saudi soil.

Just a short while ago, Houthis released footage of reportedly downing a Saudi F-15 jet over Yemen's Marib province. Visuals showed flames erupting from the debris of the aircraft. Later, Houthi fighters were also seen posing with the destroyed aircraft's wing.

According to Houthis, a surface-to-air missile was used to target the F-15 jet.

The Iran-backed group also claimed to have targeted an Aramco facility in Saudi Arabia's Yanbu with dozens of ballistic missiles and drones, which reportedly caused large fires and extensive destruction.

According to Houthis, the Khamis Mushait air base was also targeted with missiles. As of now, Riyadh is yet to confirm these claims.

Meanwhile, Riyadh termed the security of Mecca a 'red line' and asserted that this was a bid to terrorise pilgrims visiting the holy mosque. It also vowed to take deterrent measures against Houthis.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and hit out at the Iran-backed group.

However, Houthis staunchly denied this claim.

India also expressed deep concern at the drone attack and strikes on Saudi Arabia.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, and I am quoting him, "The incident near Mecca is particularly concerning, given the special significance of the city to Muslims across the world."

Amid this, visuals showed fighters affiliated with Saudi-backed forces engaging in clashes with Houthis in Yemen's Al-Jawf province.

As Houthis continue to tighten their noose around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, Saudi is scrambling for help.

Its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sought Egypt's backing during his visit to Cairo. While Egypt is unlikely to offer military assistance, the country can help in terms of mediation.

This comes as Pakistan continues to stay away from the battlefield despite signing the trilateral Mecca defence agreement.

Even US President Donald Trump has declined a request from Saudi Arabia for direct US strikes on Houthis.

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According to Reuters, American officials met Houthi representatives at the US Embassy in Muscat over the weekend. The Iran-backed group reportedly assured US officials that it will abide by its 2025 ceasefire and not attack any American, Israeli or commercial vessels, except those belonging to Saudi Arabia.

This is not all.

According to reports, Saudi Arabia has also reached out to the UK for military assistance. However, UK PM Andy Burnham has only approved deployment of British military advisers to Riyadh as of now.

As Saudi-led forces continue to suffer setbacks, residents on the streets of Tehran expressed solidarity with Houthis.

The escalation in West Asia also came up for discussion in the UN Security Council.

The UN called for restoring navigational rights in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

On this occasion, Yemen's UN envoy sought support for restoring government authority over the country's territory, coastline, ports and territorial waters.

Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the UN also urged the Security Council to take a decisive stance.

With Saudi Arabia's growing helplessness to stop Houthi advances, it is amply clear that the West Asia war is entering a dangerous phase.