Saudi Arabia's military coalition declared the security of Mecca a "red line" after its air defenses intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels south of the holy city on Tuesday evening.

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces shot down the hostile drone before it entered prohibited airspace over Mecca. He described the incident as the second Houthi attempt to target the city, following a ballistic missile launch in 2017. Al-Malki condemned the move as an effort to terrorize pilgrims and harm residents, vowing that the coalition would take necessary deterrent measures against the Houthis.

The Houthis rejected the accusations. Spokesman Hazem al-Assad called the claims a "worn-out lie" on social media, insisting the group poses no threat to holy sites. Another Houthi official dismissed the allegations as fabrication.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned the attempted attack as heinous and a violation of the sanctity of holy sites. Saudi authorities had issued brief security alerts in Mecca and other areas on Tuesday amid a week of Houthi strikes that injured civilians in southern Saudi cities.

The episode marks a sharp escalation in the Yemen conflict, which has drawn Saudi Arabia deeper into the broader Middle East confrontation involving Iran and its proxies. Mecca serves as Islam's holiest city and hosts millions of pilgrims annually for the hajj. The kingdom, a major U.S. ally and the world's top oil exporter, faces ongoing threats to its territory and energy infrastructure from the Iran-aligned militants.

Oil prices have remained elevated above $100 a barrel amid the regional instability. The U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia issued a travel advisory urging reconsideration of trips to the kingdom following the alerts.