Saudi Arabia says it shot down Houthi drone south of Mecca

The Houthis have recently seized control of large swathes of Yemen's Red Sea coast from Saudi-backed pro-government forces.Last week, they captured the strategic port city of Mokha and Perim Island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the southern gateway to a key shipping route that links Asia and Europe via the Red Sea and the Suez canal.The Houthis said they posed no threat to international shipping but reiterated that they would target vessels from Saudi Arabia, which has relied on the Red Sea for oil exports since the US and Israel's war with Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.At the same time, Saudi Arabia's key East-West Pipeline, which was being used to transfer crude oil from the Gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, had to be closed after it was badly damaged in a strike that the kingdom blamed on Iran-backed militias in Iraq. Some experts have said it could take more than a month to repair the pipeline, but US Energy Secretary Chris Wright predicted on Tuesday that oil should be flowing through it within days.Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country's de facto ruler, has personally pressed US President Donald Trump to take military action against th...