The UAE Ministry of Defense said that it had intercepted a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis based in Yemen and backed by Iran, as it said that the shrapnel of that missile fell outside residential areas, so there were no reports of casualties or damage.
Soon after, the Ministry of Defense published a video clip of what it said was a strike it had carried out against the launch site of that ballistic missile in Yemen, which it said destroyed the site.
This coincides with the historic visit of the Israeli President to the UAE. A presidential spokesperson told CNN that President Herzog and his entourage were not in danger, and that this visit was continuing as planned.
This is the third attack attempt by the Houthi rebels to target the UAE this month. Earlier this month, at least three foreign workers were killed in a drone attack.
Last week, US and Emirati forces intercepted a ballistic missile attack targeting the Al Dhafra air base near Abu Dhabi.
For their part, the Houthis have warned that this will be an ongoing campaign, as they call it, and they want the UAE to end its participation in the war in Yemen. This comes at a time when we are seeing an escalation of the conflict there, whether it is the fighting on the ground or the airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition.
The question remains about the extent of Iran’s involvement in all this, and whether it has any prior knowledge, or has given the green light to its proxy, the Houthi rebels, to carry out these attacks on the UAE, because this comes at a time when we see this region heading towards calm on many different fronts, With diplomatic talks between the UAE and Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iran, to improve relations, and of course there are talks towards a new nuclear agreement between Iran and the West. Those talks appear to be progressing, and this question remains unanswered.
Source: CNN
