Video duration 02 minutes 54 seconds
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, had a telephone conversation with the Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces, Lieutenant-General Hamad Al-Rumaithi, while Iran expressed its concern about the widening circle of war in Yemen, after the Houthis announced, for the second time in a row, targeting sites in the UAE capital with missiles.
A statement by the US Department of Defense stated that Milley and Al-Rumaithi discussed the Houthi attacks on the UAE and the security conditions in the Middle East.
According to the statement, the US Chief of Staff condemned the two attacks on the UAE and praised the UAE armed forces for their success in confronting the threats.
The Saudi-Emirati coalition announced the start of a military operation against what it described as legitimate targets in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
The coalition added that the operation comes in response to the threat and the military necessity to protect civilians from the hostile attacks of the Houthis, as it described it.
On the other hand, local Yemeni sources said that the coalition launched 4 raids on Arhab and Sanhan districts, north and south of Sanaa.
Houthi attack
Yesterday, Monday, the Houthi group launched a new attack on the UAE for the second time in a few days, and the group targeted the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi with ballistic missiles; It announced the targeting of Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi and other locations.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said that they targeted sensitive sites in the UAE, including Al Dhafra Air Base, and sites in Saudi Arabia as well.
Saree explained – in a televised statement – that his group targeted Al Dhafra Air Base (south of the capital Abu Dhabi) and other sites in the Dubai region, according to him.
The Houthi military spokesman warned foreign companies in the UAE and advised them to leave because it had become an unsafe country, as he put it.
He also revealed the targeting of vital and sensitive sites in Jazan and Asir (southern Saudi Arabia), and announced the targeting of military bases in the Saudi depth in the Sharurah region (southern of the Kingdom), and confirmed the Houthis’ readiness to expand their operations in the next stage.
For its part, the UAE responded by announcing the destruction of the missile launcher in the Yemeni governorate of Al-Jawf, while Saudi Arabia condemned the attack and called for international action against the Houthi group.
The UAE Ministry of Defense said that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi group towards the UAE.
A statement by the US Central Command also said that US forces at Al Dhafra air base near Abu Dhabi, intercepted two missiles using Patriot missiles.
The statement added that the interception process, which took place in conjunction with the efforts of the UAE forces, took place in the early hours of Monday morning.
The US command also indicated that it raised the state of alert at the base during the attack, and that its forces took shelter in shelters.
The statement stressed that the US forces in Al Dhafra are vigilant and ready to respond in the event of any further attacks. It also revealed the presence of about two thousand American soldiers and employees at the Al Dhafra base.
Emirates scare
The former advisor to the Saudi Foreign Ministry, Salem Al-Yami, said that the Houthis want their escalation to intimidate the UAE, and this will not happen, as he put it. Al-Yami also said, in an interview with Al-Jazeera, that Saudi Arabia is able to deter what he called the Houthi aggression.
On the other hand, a member of the Houthi Political Bureau, Ali Al-Qahoum, said in an interview with Al-Jazeera that their targeting of the UAE will stop if it leaves Yemen, and stop what he described as its divisive projects.
In regional and international reactions, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that what is happening between Yemen and Arab countries participating in the war against it is a Yemeni affair. Abdullahian expressed his country’s concern about the widening of the war, stressing the need for a political settlement of the Yemeni crisis.
From my perspective, US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said that the Pentagon is studying whether the Houthi missile attack on the UAE last week targeted US forces there.
The US State Department condemned the attacks on both the UAE and Saudi Arabia at the hands of the Houthis.
Ministry spokesman Ned Price said – in a press conference in Washington – that his country will continue to hold those behind this behavior accountable, and to prosecute those involved in military attacks that threaten the security and safety of civilians and regional stability.