When Yemen’s Houthis hit Abu Dhabi on Monday, it was quite the shock. Previous such attacks were aimed at the Saudis, and this was the first time the UAE got hit.
Courting tourism and trade, the UAE had an air of invulnerability to it, one that was quickly done away with when years of involvement in the Yemen War proved to have made them a target.
The UAE is talking up retaliation, but the reality is that their play as a major power in Yemen threatens their more important priorities. They can’t have things both ways.
Since the Yemen War is at least nominally about Iran, Israel has stepped in to offer security and intelligence support to the UAE after this attack. Israel is not involved in the Yemen War, but would have a vested interest in keeping it raging.
Israel is also within the Houthis missile range…!