TOPIC: Houthi's Attempt to Strike the UAE Again as Israeli President Visits

In a repeat of a very recent attack, the UAE says it was forced to intercept and destroy a ballistic missile fired at its territory from within Yemen. The attack noticeably occurred whilst the UAE hosted Isaac Herzog, the first ever Israeli president to visit the nation. 

Casualties Low But Tensions High

The defence ministry of the UAE announced yesterday that the debris of the ballistic missile fell on an uninhabited area, with no one harmed from the attack, although it remains unclear where the missile was originally targeting. In the UAE itself, things seem to be running as normal, with air traffic running as usual and no extra precautions being taken within the Gulf State. The attack was confirmed as having come from Yemen when the Yemeni Houthi group confirmed via social media that it had fired a number of missiles at Abu Dhabi, along with several drones towards Dubai. In a separate television interview, a military spokesman for the Iranian-backed group Yahya Saria stated that headquarters of international companies in the UAE would be legitimate targets. The spokesman went on to state: 

'we hit specific and important targets in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi with a number of ballistic missiles, as well as sensitive targets in the Emirate of Dubai with a number of Samad-3 drones... the UAE enemy state will remain unsafe as long as the tools of the Israeli enemy remain in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, launching aggression against our dear country.' 

The most recent attack come in the wake of an attack launched by the Houthi's on Abu Dhabi on January 17, which killed three people. This attack was a direct response to UAE-supported Yemeni militias coming in to increasing conflict with the Houthi's. The UAE has significantly reduced its military presence in Yemen since a 2019 withdrawal, but still backs some of the local forces which have proved most effective when countering the Houthi's. 

In retaliation for the attacks, the UAE defence ministry announced that fighter jets of the Saudi coalition had destroyed missile launchers located in Yemen. Meanwhile, the attack comes as the Israeli president seeks to increase the security and bilateral ties between the UAE and Israel. This advancement could eventually include arms deals that boost the UAE's air defence, with Israeli anti-missile technology a step above any others available in the Middle East. In 2020, the UAE, along with Bahrain, signed normalisation agreements with Israel, named the 'Abraham Accords'. This feeds in to the current divide across the Middle East, which pits Iran and its Shia proxy groups against the Sunni Gulf States and Israel itself. 

For the report on the previous attack, please see our article at: 

https://mundusreport.blogspot.com/2022/01/topic-yemen-war-escalates-as-hopes-of.html

Israeli President Isaac Herzog visits Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the de-facto leader of the UAE.