UAE intercepts Yemen missile as Israeli president visits
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels early Monday as the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, was visiting the country, authorities said, the third such attack in as many weeks.
The attack only fuels ongoing tensions in the wider Persian Gulf, which has seen a series of attacks as Iran's nuclear deal with world powers unravels and Yemen's yearslong war rages on.
As negotiators in Vienna now attempt to revive the accord and Emirati-backed forces press on the Iran-backed Houthis, the rebels are launching their longest-range attacks yet — a major challenge for the Emirates, which advertises itself to international businesses as a safe corner of an otherwise-dangerous neighborhood.
The UAE's state-run WAM news agency reported Monday's interception, saying “the attack did not result in any losses, as the remnants of the ballistic missile fell outside the populated areas.”
It wasn't immediately clear where the remnants fell. The country's civilian air traffic control agency said there was no effect on air travel in the UAE, home to the long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad.
The country's top prosecutor has threatened that people who film or post images of such an incident would face criminal charges in the UAE, an autocratic federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, making reporting on such incidents even more complicated for journalists.
Instead, the Emirati Defense Ministry released black-and-white footage it described as showing the destruction of a ballistic missile launcher in Yemen's al-Jawf province some 30 minutes after the attack — just as it did after last week's attack, leading analysts to suggest the Emiratis may be receiving Western intelligence assistance for its strikes.
Al-Jawf is some 1,350...
