ERBIL () — Saudi Arabia on Tuesday issued brief alerts warning of possible attacks in the holy city of Mecca and the governorates of Jeddah and Taif, as the kingdom faces repeated missile and drone attacks launched by the Houthis from Yemen.
The alerts, including the first issued for Mecca since the Middle East war began, were lifted shortly after being announced, according to Saudi civil defense authorities.
The warnings came a day after the Houthis launched a series of ballistic missiles and drone attacks toward Saudi Arabia, injuring 13 people in the kingdom’s southern region.
The latest attacks and alerts have heightened concerns over the widening geographic reach of the conflict and the potential risks to major population centers and strategically important areas in Saudi Arabia.
The Houthi attacks are also adding pressure to an already volatile regional security environment, with the Iran-backed group maintaining its military campaign from Yemen while tensions have escalated around key maritime routes in the Red Sea and Gulf.
Mecca holds unparalleled religious and symbolic importance for Muslims worldwide and is home to the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest site, toward which Muslims face during daily prayers.
It is also the destination of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, drawing millions of Muslims from around the world.
Any attack or credible threat against Mecca would therefore carry significance far beyond Saudi Arabia and would be expected to trigger a powerful emotional and political reaction among Muslims across the world, particularly in Sunni-majority countries where the holy city occupies a central place in religious and cultural life.
Separately, Qatar on Tuesday warned of severe global consequences if the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea, were to close.
The warning comes after months of disruption surrounding the Strait of Hormuz and amid recent Houthi advances along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, raising concerns over the security of another vital maritime passage.
“The world is suffering enough with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, so we cannot also afford to add the Bab al-Mandab into that equation,” Qatar Foreign Ministry official Ibrahim Al Hashmi told reporters.
He warned that any closure of Bab al-Mandab would be “catastrophic for the entire world,” pointing to the broader economic consequences of disruptions to international shipping and trade.
“We are already seeing the consequences,” Al Hashmi said, adding that Qatar was therefore “pushing for diplomacy, dialogue.”
The Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab are among the world’s most strategically important maritime chokepoints, linking major energy-producing regions with international shipping routes. Any prolonged disruption to either waterway could increase shipping costs, disrupt supply chains and put further pressure on global energy markets.
The latest developments come as the conflict continues to raise concerns that attacks involving Yemen, Saudi Arabia and major maritime routes could further broaden the regional impact of the war.
