Houthis reveal new attack drone, threaten UAE with dozens of strikes: 'Protect your glass skyscrapers!'

RT
Wed, 18 Sep 2019 17:08 UTC

© Reuters / Al Masira TV; Reuters / Naif Rahma

Yemen's Houthi rebels has threatened to launch attacks on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its bustling financial center of Abu Dhabi using new drones, after taking credit for a recent attack on Saudi oil facilities.

On the heels of a Saudi press conference blaming Tehran for this weekend's oil field and refinery attacks, a Houthi military spokesman insisted the militant group was behind the assault, and vowed to carry out additional strikes beyond Saudi Arabia.

"We have dozens of targets within our range in the UAE, some are in Abu Dhabi and can be attacked at any time," said the spokesman, Yahya Saria. "The UAE should stop its participation in the aggression [on Yemen] if it wants to protect its glass skyscrapers."

The Houthis have developed new drones powered by "normal and jet engines," which will extend their range of attack, Saria added.

The armed group - known formally by its party title Ansar Allah - claimed responsibility for Saturday's attacks on Saudi oil facilities, which led to disruptions in the global supply and spiked oil prices by nearly 20 percent. Both Riyadh and Washington insist Iran had a hand in the strikes, but the Islamic Republic has denied all involvement.

The Houthis have been at war with a coalition of states led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE since March 2015, when the coalition invaded Yemen seeking to reinstall President Mansour Hadi who had been ousted the year prior. The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and produced a dire humanitarian crisis in which millions have lost access to food, clean water and healthcare.

Comment: Echoing their response to the tanker attacks from some months ago (also blamed on Iran), Japan has also expressed their skepticism that Iran is behind the latest attacks in Saudi Arabia. Their defense minister had this to say:

"We are not aware of any information that points to Iran," Kono said during a press briefing, opposing Saudi and Trump administration suggestions that Iran was to blame for the recent attack on Saudi Aramco facilities.

"We believe the Houthis carried out the attack based on the statement claiming responsibility," Kono said.

Kono said Japan, an ally of both Iran and the US, is still in the process of determining who was behind the attacks, which were allegedly carried out by drones.

"Given Japan's strong ties with the US based on the US-Japan Alliance, and the relationship of trust that Japan has with various countries located in the Middle East, Japan is in a position to fulfill a mediating role," said Kono.
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French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also said on Tuesday that he is not aware of evidence demonstrating Iranian involvement.

"Up to now France doesn't have proof permitting it to say that these drones came from such and such a place, and I don't know if anyone has proof," said Le Drian. "We need a strategy of de-escalation for the area, and any move that goes against this de-escalation would be a bad move for the situation in the region."

But the lack of evidence is not holding back Pompeo and MBS from chest-thumping that Iran needs to "be held accountable". Iranian presidential adviser Hesameddin Ashena called BS on their posturing:

"The press conference proved that Saudi Arabia knows nothing about where the missiles and drones were made or launched from and failed to explain why the country's defence system failed to intercept them," Ashena wrote on Wednesday on his Twitter page, as quoted by the Mehr news agency.

For a lowdown on what's really going on, read Pepe Escobar's latest:

• Pepe Escobar: Houthi rebels overturned the chessboard