U.A.E. Denies Yemen Rebels Fired Missile at Abu Dhabi Nuclear Plant
possesses an air defense system capable of dealing with any threat of any kind and the project of Barakah reactor is immune." It is the second time this year
that the Iran-aligned Houthis have said they fired a missile toward the United Arab Emirates since the Gulf States, led by Saudi Arabia, began an air campaign against the rebels who had toppled the Gulf-allied president of Yemen, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, in 2015.
3, 2017
DEAD SEA, Jordan — Yemen’s Houthi rebels said on Sunday
that they had fired a cruise missile at a $20 billion nuclear power plant under construction in Abu Dhabi, but the United Arab Emirates’ state-run news agency immediately denied the claim.
The statement quoted a Houthi leader who warned against continuing the blockade, "affirming Yemenis’ right to take sensitive
steps." On Twitter, the state agency WAM denied the Houthi rebels had launched a missile toward the United Arab Emirates.
The Yemen rebels’ claim about striking a target in Abu Dhabi comes amid heavy fighting in Yemen’s capital, Sana, between the Shiite Houthi rebels
and some of their former allies, who are led by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The Saudi coalition, which includes the United Arab Emirates, accuses Iran of trying to expand its influence into
Arab countries, including Yemen, which shares a long border with Saudi Arabia, by aligning with the Houthis.
The nuclear power plant, in Abu Dhabi’s far western desert, is being built by the Korea Electric Power Corporation near the border with Saudi Arabia
and is scheduled to begin operating next year, the United Arab Emirates energy minister has said, according to The Associated Press.