The unusual recent attack on Abu Dhabi came in response to the effective pressure exerted by the Saudis (from the air) and forces loyal to the United Arab Emirates (on land) on the Houthis in Shabwa and Marib provinces in Yemen. These achievements, if left intact, will give the Arab coalition and the legitimate Yemeni government significant leverage on the Houthis and earn it points to be used in any negotiations on a settlement.
The participation in recent weeks by the United Arab Emirates, for the first time in three years, in the widespread attack on the Houthi strongholds was the trigger for the attack. The Houthis have fired missiles at the Abu Dhabi nuclear power plant and airport in the past, but this is the first time the UAE confirmed it was hit. It is unclear if there was direct Iranian involvement in the attack yesterday. Iran has an interest in maintaining normal relations with its Arab neighbors, including the United Arab Emirates, but is prepared to threaten them through its proxies.
The Houthis fire missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles at Saudi Arabia frequently but not at the UAE, which sought to avoid attacks on its territory when it announced the evacuation of its forces from Yemen in 2019. This week’s attack by the Houthis, in which three foreign nationals were killed, was intended to warn the UAE that there was a price for its action in Yemen and to deter it from continuing.
It was the Houthis who took responsibility for the 2019 Iranian attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. Iranian aid to the Houthis has deepened over the seven years of fighting that have not garnered much international interest, despite some 400,000 deaths, millions of refugees, famine, and disease in what has been described by the UN as the worst humanitarian disaster since World War II.
The unusual recent attack on Abu Dhabi came in response to the effective pressure exerted by the Saudis (from the air) and forces loyal to the United Arab Emirates (on land) on the Houthis in Shabwa and Marib provinces in Yemen. These achievements, if left intact, will give the Arab coalition and the legitimate Yemeni government significant leverage on the Houthis and earn it points to be used in any negotiations on a settlement.
The participation in recent weeks by the United Arab Emirates, for the first time in three years, in the widespread attack on the Houthi strongholds was the trigger for the attack. The Houthis have fired missiles at the Abu Dhabi nuclear power plant and airport in the past, but this is the first time the UAE confirmed it was hit. It is unclear if there was direct Iranian involvement in the attack yesterday. Iran has an interest in maintaining normal relations with its Arab neighbors, including the United Arab Emirates, but is prepared to threaten them through its proxies.
The Houthis fire missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles at Saudi Arabia frequently but not at the UAE, which sought to avoid attacks on its territory when it announced the evacuation of its forces from Yemen in 2019. This week’s attack by the Houthis, in which three foreign nationals were killed, was intended to warn the UAE that there was a price for its action in Yemen and to deter it from continuing.
It was the Houthis who took responsibility for the 2019 Iranian attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. Iranian aid to the Houthis has deepened over the seven years of fighting that have not garnered much international interest, despite some 400,000 deaths, millions of refugees, famine, and disease in what has been described by the UN as the worst humanitarian disaster since World War II.