The UAE asked the United States to reclassify the Yemeni Houthi group as a terrorist group, after the group claimed attacks on a number of areas in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi on Monday, killing 3 people, while the Houthis threatened to carry out other attacks against the UAE.
And the American news website Axios quoted an Emirati official as saying that the UAE Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, asked his American counterpart, Anthony Blinken, in a phone call, on Monday, to re-list the Houthi group on the list of terrorism, in light of recent events.
And the administration of US President Joe Biden had previously canceled, a month after the president took office in January 2021, the decision of the administration of former President Donald Trump to classify the Houthi group on the list of terrorism.
The Biden administration justified its decision that this designation impedes the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Yemeni people.
Sullivan's remarks
Earlier on Monday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan expressed his strong condemnation of the terrorist attack on Abu Dhabi, and said that Washington would cooperate with the Emiratis and its international partners to hold the Houthis accountable.
The Wall Street Journal quoted a US official as saying that Iran was not suspected of the attack on Abu Dhabi, "the Houthis are working alone."
The UAE authorities said that they reserve the right to respond to what they described as the terrorist attacks launched by the Houthi group on Abu Dhabi, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, "We condemn the Houthi terrorist militia's targeting of civilian areas and facilities on UAE soil today. This sinister targeting will not go unpunished."
"The UAE reserves the right to respond to these terrorist attacks and this criminal escalation," she added.
In the same context, Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic advisor to the President of the UAE, said in a tweet on Twitter, "The terrorist militias' tampering with the stability of the region is too weak to affect the security and safety process in which we live."
Al Jazeera has tried to contact Emirati officials and personalities to comment on the attack, but it was not able to host any of them.
Target areas
The authorities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi announced an explosion in tanks transporting petroleum products, killing 3 people. They also reported a fire near Abu Dhabi Airport, and said they suspected drones.
Abu Dhabi Police said that a fire led to the explosion of 3 tankers for transporting oil materials in the Musaffah Industrial Area near the tanks of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and a "slight" fire occurred in the new construction area of Abu Dhabi International Airport.
I greet you from #AbuDhabi, the capital of the #UAE, safe, stable and continuous in the process of development and construction, and there is no fear for its security and stability, and you know how and when to respond to a terrorist Houthi crime that is no more than a hiccup and a media bang that caused the death of 3 innocent people and minor civilian damage.
Expect a response, you cowards of Iran's tools 😡
— Abdulkhaleq Abdulla (@Abdulkhaleq_UAE) January 17, 2022
The UAE authorities have not announced any incidents in the Emirate of Dubai, contrary to what the Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree’, said that Dubai Airport was among the targets that were hit on Monday.
The Emirates News Agency quoted the police as saying that preliminary investigations indicate that "small flying objects, possibly belonging to drones, were detected in the two areas, which may have caused the explosion and fire," adding that it is currently conducting an extensive investigation.
The police confirmed that the explosion of oil tanks "resulted in the death of a Pakistani and two Indians, and the injury of 6 others, with moderate and minor injuries."
For its part, ADNOC said in a statement, "At about ten o'clock this morning, a fire broke out at the refined products loading station in the Musaffah area of Abu Dhabi."
She added that she regretted the death of 3 workers as a result of the accident and the injury of 6 others with minor to moderate injuries, who "received the necessary treatment."
Securing supplies
The Emirati oil company said it had put in place the necessary plans for "business continuity to ensure reliable supplies of products to its customers in the UAE, and around the world".
A spokesman for Etihad Airways said that a small number of flights were disrupted for a short period at Abu Dhabi airport due to precautionary measures, but soon normal operations resumed.
Navigational data showed that the movement of aircraft arriving at Abu Dhabi Airport was disrupted for about an hour.
These developments coincided with the visit of South Korean President Moon Jae-in to the UAE.
An official at the Presidential Palace in South Korea said that a summit that was scheduled to take place between Moon and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed was canceled due to urgent and unexpected developments.
And the Emirates News Agency reported on Monday evening that the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi held phone talks with the President of South Korea, and "discussed paths of cooperation and ways to support them."
And the official South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported that the scheduled meeting between the South Korean president and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in the UAE capital was canceled due to an unexpected problem on the Emirati side.
A South Korean presidential palace official said that a summit that was scheduled to take place between Moon and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed has been canceled due to urgent and unexpected developments.
The agency added that the UAE side did not give a specific reason for canceling the meeting.
Houthi warnings
On the other hand, the military spokesman for the Houthis announced - in a televised statement on Monday evening - that they had carried out a military operation against the UAE with 5 ballistic and winged missiles, and a large number of drones. He added that this operation, which he described as qualitative, targeted the Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports, an oil refinery and other targets.
"We renew our warning to the countries of aggression that they will receive more painful blows," the spokesman added, stressing that they will consider the UAE an unsafe country as long as it continues its aggression against Yemen, as he put it.
Saree confirmed that they would not hesitate to "expand the Bank of Goals to include more important sites and facilities during the coming period," and called on foreign companies, citizens and residents in the UAE to stay away from vital sites and facilities for their own safety.
And the French Press Agency quoted the political advisor in the Houthi government, Abdul Ilah Hajar, as saying, "We have previously sent warning messages to the UAE that if it does not stop its support for the mercenaries (..) who are mobilizing in Marib, Al-Bayda and Shabwa, we will have a response. It seems that the UAE did not understand this message. We sent them a clear warning message."
"If the UAE continues its hostility to Yemen, it will not be able in the future to withstand the painful blows, and it will not be able to withstand our defense of ourselves and our defense of Yemen," Hajar added.
The effects of air strikes on Monday, carried out by the Saudi-led coalition, on Sanaa airport, following the Houthi attacks on the UAE (Reuters)
coalition raids
On the other hand, Reuters witnesses said that the Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, which is controlled by the Houthis, in the wake of the group's attacks on the UAE, and after the coalition intercepted 8 drones that were launched towards Saudi Arabia on Monday.
One of the air strikes hit the home of a former military official and killed him and his 25-year-old son, a medical source and two neighbors told Reuters.
Houthi media reported that the coalition's airstrikes killed at least 4 and wounded about 5 in a raid on Ma'in district in Sana'a.
The Saudi Press Agency reported earlier on Monday that the coalition had monitored a "hostile" escalation using drones by the Houthis, noting that a number of drones had taken off from Sanaa International Airport.
The coalition, of which the UAE is a major member, said that F-15 planes destroyed two ballistic missile launchers used by the Houthis in Monday's attacks, adding that its air forces are carrying out round-the-clock operations over the Yemeni capital, calling on residents of Sanaa to stay away. About the Houthi camps and gatherings in the interest of their safety.
Following the Houthi attacks on the UAE, many Arab and international positions were issued condemning the targeting of Abu Dhabi, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack, and called on all parties to "exercise maximum restraint," according to what his spokesman announced.
It is noteworthy that in 2019, the Houthis broadcast a video clip that they said was related to their targeting of facilities at Abu Dhabi International Airport in 2018, with a drone. However, the UAE denied that the airport had been attacked, and said that the accident at the airport was caused by a supply vehicle.