- WEB DESK
- September 15, 2026
Saudi civil defence issues brief danger alerts in Makkah, Taif and Jeddah
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- Reuters
- September 15, 2026
RIYADH/DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s civil defence authorities issued brief alerts on Tuesday warning of potential danger in Makkah, Taif and Jeddah amid the ongoing escalation with Yemen’s Houthis.
The warning marked the first such alert for Makkah, home to Islam’s holiest site, since the latest escalation with the Houthis.
The alerts were lifted minutes later after authorities said the danger had passed, according to Saudi state television.
The warnings came as tensions between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthis have intensified, with the group carrying out missile and drone attacks against Saudi targets and Saudi-led forces conducting airstrikes in Yemen.
Houthis intensify attacks on Saudi Arabia as Yemen conflict escalates
Yemen’s Houthis have stepped up missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia while consolidating their hold over much of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline, officials said, deepening concerns about the conflict’s potential impact on regional security and global oil supplies.
The latest escalation came as Gulf Arab countries delayed planned discussions with Iran on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which remains largely blocked amid the wider regional conflict.
The Houthis said they launched a large-scale attack on Monday against a Saudi military base in Khamis Mushait, using dozens of missiles and drones. They said the operation targeted military infrastructure, including aircraft facilities, radar equipment, runways and ammunition storage areas, in response to Saudi strikes in Yemen.
Saudi authorities issued emergency warnings in several southern areas following the attacks. The Saudi-led coalition said 13 civilians were injured.
The Houthis have also expanded their territorial gains, including the capture of Perim Island near the entrance to the Red Sea. Their advances have added to pressure on Saudi Arabia’s oil export infrastructure after an airstrike last week shut down the kingdom’s east-west pipeline. Riyadh has attributed that attack to Iran-backed Iraqi militias.
The 1,200-kilometre pipeline links the Gulf with the Red Sea and was built as an alternative export route to the Strait of Hormuz. Traders estimate that an extended shutdown could affect oil supplies equivalent to around 4% of global consumption. Saudi Arabia has not announced when the pipeline will resume operations.
Saudi and Yemeni government forces have intensified airstrikes against Houthi positions, including around the Red Sea port of Mocha. However, Yemeni officials say the Houthis retain control of most of the country’s western coastline.
“The pressure on the Houthis is increasing, but they are responding by expanding their missile and drone campaign against Saudi Arabia,” one Yemeni official said.
Oil prices climbed more than 4% on Monday before ending the session around 1% higher.
The renewed fighting is also testing U.S. policy. Washington has so far declined Saudi requests for direct military involvement beyond intelligence assistance, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he had spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and that the Houthis had also contacted Washington, urging it not to intervene.
Saudi state media reported that the crown prince met U.S. regional commander Admiral Brad Cooper in Jeddah on Monday.
Saudi Arabia has fought the Houthis since 2015 as part of a military coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government. The conflict had eased considerably under a ceasefire in recent years but resumed this month as Houthi forces pushed back government-aligned fighters.
Hopes for diplomacy fade
Oman had been due to host a meeting on Monday with Iran and Gulf states to discuss negotiations aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war carried 20% of the world’s oil exports. But Oman announced that the meeting had been postponed. Iran said the postponement was at the request of Saudi Arabia.
Trump on Monday repeated his frequent claim that Iran was eager to make a deal quickly, but Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, called the president’s message a distraction, saying on X, “No talks until Iran’s conditions are met.”
Underscoring the volatility of shipping through the region, conflicting reports circulated about how and when an oil tanker was damaged.
Without giving a date, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker El Gaia was hit by sea mines as it passed through a prohibited zone south of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Fars news agency reported on Monday.
But the U.S. military’s Central Command immediately said the report was false and the tanker was “struck by an Iranian missile last month and rendered inoperable.”
The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization reported El Gaia was damaged on Saturday, but did not say how, and that two seafarers were missing.
Reuters could not immediately contact the ship’s owners in Dubai to verify any of the accounts.
The world’s most important oil shipping lane has been mostly shut down since the war began on February 28 as Iran has threatened vessels that transit the waterway without its authority.
“The IRGC Navy firmly declares that the Strait of Hormuz is closed and still under our smart control,” the Revolutionary Guards said in the statement.
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