Yemeni Houthi leader threatens to target UAE with missiles
madaresharghi The head of Yemen’s Houthis threatened Thursday to fire missiles at the United Arab Emirates and to attack Saudi tankers in the Red Sea. The UAE, a key member of a Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting in Yemen’s conflict, “is now within range of our missiles,” Abdel Malek al-Houthi said in a televised speech, AFP […]
The head of Yemen’s Houthis threatened Thursday to fire missiles at the United Arab Emirates and to attack Saudi tankers in the Red Sea.
The UAE, a key member of a Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting in Yemen’s conflict, “is now within range of our missiles,” Abdel Malek al-Houthi said in a televised speech, AFP reported.
“The companies which have been set up, or which have investments in the UAE, should no longer consider it a safe country.”
Abdel Malek said the Houthis had successfully fired a missile at Abu Dhabi earlier this month, meaning the United Arab Emirates was no longer safe from attack.
He said his forces had advanced their missile technology to reach targets north of the Saudi capital Riyadh and south of Mecca, in the west of the oil-rich kingdom.
The naval forces were capable of striking Saudi oil installations and tankers in the Red Sea, he said, warning against any attempt to capture the port of Hodeida which is under their control.
“Today, the port of Hodeida is being threatened and we cannot turn a blind eye to that,” Abdel Malek said.
“If the Saudi regime, with a green light from the US, attack Hodeida, then we have to take steps that we haven’t taken before.”
“We could target Saudi oil tankers and we could do anything,” he said.
The Saudi coalition has since 2015 waged a blistering air campaign against Yemen, while enforcing an air and sea blockade.
The war has killed over 10,000 civilians, displaced 3 million people, and pushed the country, the most impoverished in the Arab world, to the brink of famine. Moreover, an outbreak of cholera has killed 2,000 people