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UAE intercepts Houthi missiles, GOP calls for Biden to reapply terror designation

Abu Dhabi signals it’s ready for long-term confrontation, as Republican lawmakers call on Biden to reverse previous decision cancelling terror designation for the Houthis.

By World Israel News Staff

The United Arab Emirates announced early Monday morning that its air defense systems had intercepted two ballistic missiles fired at Abu Dhabi by Houthi rebels based in southern Yemen.

In a statement about the attempted strike early Monday morning, the UAE’s Defense Ministry told a state-run news agency that the Gulf kingdom “is ready to deal with any threats” and “takes all necessary measures to protect the state from all attacks.”

Video posted to social media shows the interception, with loud explosions and bright bursts of light visible against the night sky.

While the Houthis have not formally claimed credit for the attempted attack, the UAE government has explicitly said that they are to blame.

Last week, the Houthi rebels, who are supported, armed, and financed by Iran, successfully launched a drone attack against an oil site near Abu Dhabi’s International Airport.

Three people were killed and six were injured in that terror attack. In response, UAE’s close ally Saudi Arabia launched a series of strikes on Yemen.

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The Saudi strikes created a widespread internet outage in the country and at least 80 people were killed.

It’s believed that the attack Monday was a retaliation attempt by the Houthis.

Meanwhile, U.S. Republican lawmakers have stepped up pressure on President Joe Biden to re-designate the Houthis as a terror group following the two recent attacks.

Last year, the Biden administration removed the Houthis from the State Department’s list of terror organizations. The reason for the reclassification is unclear.

“The Houthis very clearly meet all legal criteria for designation. They are a foreign organization that engages in terrorist activity that threatens U.S. interests and nationals,” the Republican lawmakers wrote in a letter to Biden, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

“Revoking the designation of the Houthis without any material change in its behavior, as was done previously, undermines the credibility of this important foreign policy tool.”