The overnight attack
Saudi Arabia’s air defenses intercepted and destroyed two drones and two ballistic missiles launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia in the early hours of Saturday, September 26, the Saudi-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen announced. Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki Al-Maliki said in a post on X at 4 a.m. local time that two drones launched toward the Riyadh area had been “intercepted and destroyed.”
About 30 minutes later, Al-Maliki announced that air defenses had also “intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Khamis Mushayt.” Twenty minutes after that, he said a second missile fired toward the southwestern city had also been destroyed. Saudi Civil Defense issued air-raid alerts overnight for Khamis Mushayt and Abha, two upland cities in the southwestern Asir region — though notably, no alert was issued for Riyadh, suggesting the drones were detected and neutralized before they could approach the capital’s airspace. Arab News
Riyadh targeted again
Targeting the Saudi capital itself marks a significant escalation in the Houthi campaign. The drones aimed at the Riyadh area follow missile claims against the capital and Aramco facilities earlier this week, as sivonex.com reported on September 25. Khamis Mushayt, meanwhile, hosts a major Saudi Air Force base and has been a recurring target of Houthi missile fire for years, but two ballistic missiles in a single night aimed at the city underscores the intensifying tempo.
The latest wave comes just two days after the coalition said it had intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis toward Yanbu and Taif, southeast of Makkah, on Thursday. The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous areas and much of the north, have sharply stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade against the Kingdom in July, with strikes also hitting Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea. Reuters
The Mecca pact allies respond
Hours before Saturday’s attacks, the military chiefs of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye met in Riyadh to discuss the threats facing the Kingdom and regional security. The three countries signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement last month, under which an armed attack on any one of them is regarded as an attack on all — a pact designed to strengthen collective deterrence and military cooperation.
Early Saturday, Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said he had reaffirmed with Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, their continued joint efforts to confront attacks against the Kingdom in accordance with the agreement. The statement signals that Riyadh is prepared to invoke the alliance framework as the Houthi campaign deepens.
Separately, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France would send “military means” — soldiers, radars and air-defence systems — to help protect Yanbu, a key Saudi port for oil exports, following this week’s missile attacks. Arab News
Oil and energy stakes
The attacks are adding to pressure on global oil supplies at a moment when markets are already strained by the US-Israeli war on Iran. With traffic through the Strait of Hormuz largely disrupted, the Red Sea route has become the main alternative for Gulf energy exports — and the Houthi blockade and strikes are putting that lifeline at greater risk. Any hit on Saudi export infrastructure would send shockwaves through energy markets, a dynamic sivonex.com analyzed earlier this month.
What happens next
The coalition has vowed that Houthi “escalations and violations” will be dealt with firmly, and the combination of the Riyadh chiefs-of-staff meeting, the Saudi-Pakistan joint statement and France’s deployment pledge suggests a coordinated military answer is being assembled. The Houthis have shown no sign of pausing their campaign since July, and each new wave of attacks raises the stakes of the Mecca defence pact.
Whether the alliance’s deterrence framework can slow the barrage — or whether the region is sliding toward a wider direct confrontation — will be the story to watch in the days ahead. For now, Saturday’s interceptions mean the overnight assault caused no reported damage, but the signal it sends is unmistakable: the Houthis are willing to strike at the Saudi capital itself, and Riyadh is rallying allies in response.
