A man convicted of spying for Israel’s Mossad has revealed an Israeli plot to attack Islam's holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to blame Yemen for the assault.

Yemen TV published footage showing part of previous confessions made by Abdul Moein Azzan, a member of a spy network linked to the United States and Israel who was arrested in 2021, in which he revealed Israel’s plot to target Masjid al-Haram (aka the Great Mosque of Mecca or the Sacred Mosque) to pin the blame on Yemeni forces.

According to the confession published for the first time, the plot was aimed to incite Muslims against Yemen and pave the way for the presence of international fores in the Red Sea.

Referring to his meeting with an Israeli intelligence officer named Shaul Gad in Jordan in late December 2019, Azzan said the Israeli officer discussed various options to deal with the increasing capabilities of Yemen's Ansarullah resistance movement, including targeting “The Sacred Mosque [Masjid al-Haram] or the nearby areas of the two holy mosques”, namely the Great Mosque of Mecca in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina.

According to his remarks, the attack was supposed to be launched from the Red Sea or another location to create the impression that it had originated in Yemeni territory. It was supposed to be accompanied by a propaganda campaign intended to stir up anti-Yemeni sentiments among Muslims and Arabs.

When Azzan warned the Israeli officer about the dangers of such a scenario and its potential consequences for the region, the officer reportedly told him that international forces would secure the Red Sea and the US would allegedly protect oil resources. Meanwhile, Saudis, Yemeni forces, and Salafi groups would be left to fight one another in the desert, with the Israeli side observing these developments from a distance, Azzan added.

The release of this footage comes amid repeated Saudi accusations of drone launches from Yemen   towards Mecca region, as tensions between the two sides escalate.

Yemen dismisses Saudi claim of drone attack on Mecca as ‘slander’

Yemen says defeats inflicted on Saudi forces have prompted the kingdom to circulate fabricated accounts, including claims that Yemeni forces targeted the holy city of Mecca.

Despite intensifying hostilities between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, Sana’a stressed that the airspace over Islam's holy cities of Mecca and Medina is safe.

The latest escalation began after Saudi Arabia bombed Sana’a international airport in July. The Yemeni armed forces responded by enforcing a “blockade for blockade” policy and declaring an embargo on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.

In recent months, the Yemeni military has announced several successful naval operations targeting ships linked to Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, enforcing the blockade and impacting Riyadh's energy exports.

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

Yemenis had warned airlines last month against using the Saudi airspace, saying only the airspace over Islam's holy cities of Mecca and Medina is safe.

The conflict traces back to March 2015, when Saudi Arabia and a US-backed coalition launched a sweeping military campaign and blockade aimed at reinstalling a favorable regime in Sana'a.

Despite years of bombardment and the deployment of advanced Western weaponry, the Saudi coalition has failed to achieve its stated objectives.