Yemen’s Armed Forces have once again denied carrying out any attack on the holy city of Mecca, rejecting a claim by the Saudi-led coalition that it intercepted a drone over the area.

The spokesman for Yemen’s Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a statement on Tuesday that Yemeni forces had conducted no operations against Saudi territory on Tuesday.

The spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, Major General Turki al-Maliki, claimed in a post on X that Saudi air defenses had intercepted and destroyed a drone in the Mecca region.

Al-Maliki claimed that Yemeni forces had attempted to target the holy city.

General Saree, however, said the defeats suffered by Saudi forces had left the kingdom confused, prompting it to circulate fabricated accounts, including claims that Yemen had targeted the holy city of Mecca.

He described the accusation as an old “lie and slander” that Riyadh resorts to whenever its forces suffer setbacks on the battlefield.

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Saree also said the defeats had prompted Saudi Arabia to seek help from the Israeli regime to take action against the Yemeni people.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly accused Yemen of launching missile or drone attacks toward Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest cities.

Sana'a, however, has consistently rejected such allegations, maintaining that the airspace over both holy cities remains safe despite escalating hostilities with Saudi Arabia.

The latest escalation began after Saudi Arabia bombed Sana'a's international airport in July. The Yemeni Armed Forces responded by attacking Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea, and also enforcing a “blockade for blockade” policy.

The Yemeni forces also carried out retaliatory attacks on targets deep inside the kingdom, and made a lightning advance across Yemen’s coastal plain, reinforcing control over the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

In March 2015, Saudi Arabia launched a devastating bombing campaign against Yemen to restore a Riyadh-friendly regime in Sana'a and imposed a blockade on the country, triggering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Hundreds of thousands of people have died, but Saudi Arabia has failed to achieve its stated objectives.