Middle East live: Saudi Arabia accuses Houthi rebels of launching a drone strike on Mecca

Home Middle East Live Issued on: 16/09/2026 - 04:14 (FILE) Faithful tour the sacred Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, the most sacred site of Islam, on June 27, 2023. © Sajjad Hussain, AFP Saudi Arabia's air defences claim to have intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca on Tuesday, which the Iran-aligned rebels denied. Meanwhile, several explosions were heard on the island of Qeshm, near the Strait of Hormuz. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates. Yesterday's key developments: • Saudi Arabia vowed to respond "firmly" to attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels after the Iran-backed fighters wounded 13 people in the kingdom’s south following a series of drone and missile attacks. • ⁠Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met in Cairo for talks on security freedom and security of navigation in ⁠the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea. • The US Defense Department's inspector general revealed that the United States is facing a shortfall in ammunition as a result of its costly war in Iran, which has cost the US $38 billion so far. (FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP) Keywords for this article