Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

UAE blocks missile strike as Israeli president visits

UAE blocks missile strike as Israeli president visits

The United Arab Emirates said on Monday it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement as the UAE hosted Israeli President Isaac Herzog on his first visit to the Gulf business and tourism hub.

In the third such attack on the U.S.-allied Gulf state in the last two weeks, the Houthis' military spokesman said they fired Zulfiqar missiles at Abu Dhabi and launched drones at Dubai.

He reiterated a warning to residents and firms to "stay away from vital headquarters and facilities" in the UAE, which prides itself as a safe business haven and global tourism destination.

The United States condemned the assault - which followed a Jan. 17 strike on a fuel depot in Abu Dhabi that killed three people - in an escalation of the Yemen war between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition, which includes the UAE.

U.S. President Joe Biden said his administration has been in "daily contact" with the UAE to address the threats.

The Pentagon said U.S. forces in the UAE activated Patriot missile defenses but that it was the Emirates' surface-to-air interceptors that actually struck down the incoming missile. It left open the possibility of additional defensive military assistance.

"We continue to ... explore opportunities to improve our defenses and the defenses of our Emirati partners as well," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing.

A senior Emirati official described the attacks as "useless" provocations. "Those who test the UAE are mistaken," the official, Anwar Gargash, said in a Twitter post.

The assaults have led to rare security jitters among some residents in a country where expatriates are a majority, but have had no visible impact on daily life, with restaurants and beaches packed during the peak mild winter season.

UAE market sentiment has weakened following Houthi missile launches but economic analysts say the attacks, mostly thwarted, have not dampened business or investor confidence yet.

The UAE said the missile was intercepted at 20 minutes past midnight and its debris fell on an uninhabited area.

It came as Israel's president was visiting the capital where he discussed security and bilateral relations with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

"While Israel's president is visiting the UAE to build bridges and promote stability across the region, the Houthis continue to launch attacks that threaten civilians," U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a tweet.

Herzog pressed on with his visit to Expo 2020 in Dubai.

He voiced hope more countries would normalise relations with Israel as the UAE did when it, along with Bahrain, forged ties in 2020 under U.S.-brokered pacts dubbed the "Abraham Accords."

"There are only two alternatives for this region. One is peace, prosperity, cooperation, joint investments ... or alternatively, what Iran is doing, which is destabilising the region and using its proxies to employ terror," Herzog later said in a statement issued by his office.

Herzog departed the UAE on Monday, seen off at an airport by Emirati foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a video from the Israeli president's office showed.

REGIONAL SECURITY


The accords have built a new axis between Israel and Sunni Muslim Gulf states based mainly on shared concerns over Shi'ite Iran, including its proxies and its ballistic missile programme.

At the same time, the UAE has been engaging directly with Iran under de-escalation efforts driven by economic priorities. An Iranian business delegation is due to visit Expo in February.

The Saudi-led coalition accuses Iran of supplying arms to the Houthis, a charge both the group and Tehran deny. The Yemen conflict is seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Israel offered the UAE security and intelligence support after the Jan. 17 attack. Last year, it joined a naval drill with UAE, Bahraini and U.S. forces. Emirati and Israeli state-owned weapons makers have signed deals to jointly develop an advanced drone defence system and unmanned military vessels.

The Houthis have frequently carried out missile and drone launches on Saudi Arabia in the nearly seven-year war before expanding strikes on the UAE this month.

The UAE had largely ended its military presence in 2019 but Yemeni forces it arms and trains recently joined battles against the Houthis in key energy-producing regions.

The coalition has recently also carried out deadly air strikes on Houthi-held areas.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×