• Coalition downs six drones launched towards cities, including Madina, as interception debris kills two • Rebels deny ‘deep operations’ in Saudi territory
• Iran says Egypt entering Yemen war makes situation ‘more difficult’
• Macron arrives in Riyadh for ‘surprise solidarity visit’

RIYADH: As the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi movement continues to escalate, the Saudi-led coalition on Wednesday said it had intercepted six drones launched towards the kingdom, including in the Madina region.

“Four drones launched towards the kingdom have been intercepted and destroyed,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki posted on X, adding in a second post that the interceptions took place in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern region as well as Madina.

Al-Malki, who did not specify who was behind the launches, later said drones had been intercepted, also in the eastern region. The Houthis denied having targeted the kingdom, with military spokesman Yahya Saree saying their forces had not carried out any “deep” operations in Saudi territory.

The Saudi energy ministry said that falling debris from the successful interception of a drone targeting an oil facility “resulted in the deaths of two individuals, a Filipino and a Nepali, and injuries to two others”. It did not say who launched the drone aimed at Shaybah oil field near the UAE border.

Within Yemen, the Houthis claimed an attack on Wednesday on a military camp near the airport in the southern city of Aden, where the Yemeni government is based.

“Our armed forces were able to target the Saudi enemy’s operations room in the Badr camp in Aden with a ballistic missile,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement.

A government military source and a local official told Reuters the group also attacked Riyan airport in the southeastern coastal city of Mukalla. “The Houthis used missiles and drones to target a military base housing forces from the Saudi-led coalition at Al Rayyan airport,” one of the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP. Saree said the group had targeted “military equipment transported by the Saudi enemy via military cargo planes to Al Rayyan airport”.

Egypt to support Saudis

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Wednesday that Cairo’s proposed military support for Riyadh was to “defend Saudi territory, and does not include an attack on Yemen,” state-linked media reported.

Al-Qahera News, which is closely linked to state intelligence and is to broadcast a speech by Sisi, reported that he also said “the stability of our brothers in the Gulf concerns Egypt’s national security”. The speech itself has not yet been aired by Wednesday night.

Egypt’s parliament on Monday delayed a debate on President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s request to authorise military support for Saudi Arabia until next week.

Sisi had asked lawmakers to approve military support for Saudi Arabia if requested by the kingdom, which has come under near-daily attacks from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.

Iran warns against interference

However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that any interference in the Yemen war by Egypt or any other country would make the situation “more difficult”. “Egypt has sufficient experience to avoid entangling itself in such a highly complex conflict,” said Iran’s top diplomat in an interview with Iraqi state broadcaster Al-Iraqiya aired on Tuesday. “We believe that any foreign presence or interference will only make resolving this issue more difficult,” Mr Araghchi noted. He added that Egypt has said it “will not enter Yemen or engage in a war against Yemen”.

The decade-plus war between the Iran-backed Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognised government reignited in July.

Macron meets MbS

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Riyadh in a surprise “solidarity” visit, and met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Macron is the first Western leader to visit since the Houthis intensified their attacks on the kingdom this month.

The trip is part of a Gulf tour to secure diesel and petrol supplies as Macron seeks to bring down energy prices following violent protests in France sparked by rising living costs that have created a political crisis for the president.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2026