SAUDI ARABIA16 HOURS AGOYemen dismisses Mecca drone allegation, says kiswa donors to Epstein target sanctitiesThe president of Yemen's Supreme Political Council says those who gifted Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted American sex trafficker, the Ka

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Yemen’s Supreme Political Council President Mahdi al-Mashat has rejected Saudi Arabia’s claim of a drone attack near Mecca, saying those who gifted Jeffrey Epstein the Kaaba’s kiswa are the ones targeting Muslim sanctities.

“Those who gave criminal Epstein the kiswah – the cloth that covers the Kaaba in Mecca – are the ones targeting Mecca and Muslim holy sites,” Mashat announced in a statement on Wednesday evening.

He added, “Such claims can no longer deceive Arab and Muslim nations, just as earlier assertions regarding threats to international maritime navigation [in the Red Sea] failed to do so.”

Upon the disclosure of documents pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted American sex trafficker, earlier this year, it came to light that textile hangings adorned with embroidered Qur’anic verses, previously laid on the Kaaba, had been shipped to his residence in 2017.

Mashat underlined that the Yemeni nation has well demonstrated its deep faith in and commitment to holy Muslim sites, and people from all walks of Yemeni society are prepared to make sacrifices in defense of the Grand Mosque, just as they have supported al-Aqsa Mosque, which is the third holiest site in Islam after the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina.

He said Yemenis have occasionally taken to the streets in protest against desecrations of Muslim sanctities, including the Holy Qur’an, Prophet Muhammad (PBHU), Mecca and al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Israeli-occupied Old City of al-Quds.

The remarks came after the Saudi-led coalition alleged that Saudi air defenses had intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by the Yemeni Armed Forces near Mecca. The Yemeni government emphatically denied responsibility for the launch.

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki claimed the drone was intercepted at around 6.50 p.m. local time (1550 GMT) on Tuesday, before entering restricted airspace, with its wreckage falling south of the city.

On Tuesday, a Yemeni military official vehemently denounced Saudi Arabia's dissemination of false narratives, misleading statements, and inaccurate information regarding purported threats originating from Yemen against the holy city of Mecca.

Speaking to Yemen’s official Saba news agency, the source categorically dismissed any threat from Yemen directed toward the sacred city of Mecca or any other holy Muslim site.

The Sana’a administration declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia on July 20, in response to “an unfair and tyrannical siege” on Yemen lasting nearly 12 years.

The Yemeni military has announced a number of successful operations aimed at ships linked to Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea.

In March 2015, Saudi Arabia and its allies imposed a blockade on Yemen and launched a sweeping military campaign, backed by military, political, and logistical support from the United States and several Western countries.

The blockade has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis. However, Saudi Arabia has failed to achieve its stated objective of reinstating a puppet regime that serves its interests.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni armed forces have gained full control over the country's Red Sea coast in the past week by pushing away Saudi-backed forces, prompting Saudi strikes against Yemeni positions, including against civilian infrastructure. 

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