Day After Mecca Pact Nations' Talks With Iran, Houthi Claims Attack on Saudi Defense Ministry

Just a day after high-ranking officials from three member nations of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, including Saudi Arabia, met with Iran to ease regional tensions, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed they attacked the Saudi Ministry of Defense and other targets.

According to Reuters, AP, and AFP reports on the 27th (local time), Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed that day, "We launched a ballistic missile attack against the Ministry of Defense in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, and it hit its target precisely."

In response, the Saudi government stated that it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired toward Riyadh.

The AP reported eyewitness accounts of hearing at least four explosions in the skies over Riyadh that day.

Saree also claimed that the Houthis used ballistic missiles to target the Najran Airport and Khamis Mushait Air Base in southern Saudi Arabia, hitting two military transport aircraft, and also attacked Saudi Arabia's largest oil refinery in Ras Tanura in the eastern region, causing a fire in the complex.

Saudi authorities stated that their air defense network also intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis toward the eastern region.

Sirens blared across various locations in Saudi Arabia that day, including Riyadh, Abha, Najran, and Khamis Mushait, according to the AP.

Previously in the Iranian capital of Tehran, high-ranking officials from the Mecca Pact signatory nations—including Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani Army Chief of Staff and Military Commander-in-Chief General Asim Munir, and Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Director Ibrahim Kalin—met with figures such as Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and expressed their intent to continue dialogue in the future.

On the same day, the Egyptian parliament approved measures allowing Egypt to provide military support for Saudi defense upon Riyadh's request.

In response, Mohammed Al-Bukaiti, a member of the Houthi political bureau, said in a video interview with AP that Egypt's support for Saudi Arabia would be considered a hostile act.

(Photo: Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.