By Mahmoud Mourad

DUBAI, Reuters – The United Arab Emirates announced Monday that it intercepted a missile from Yemen’s Iran aligned Houthi group. This was in response to President Isaac Herzog’s first visit to the UAE’s business and tourism center.

Washington condemned the attack. It was the third strike against U.S.-allied UAE over the past two week, along with a devastating attack on Abu Dhabi capital, Jan. 17.

This missile attack marks an increase in the Yemen conflict between the Houthis (and a Saudi coalition that includes the UAE), and the Houthis.

An Emirati senior official called the attacks “useless” provocations that should be stopped to preserve national security and sovereignty. Anwar Gargash posted on Twitter (NYSE:) that those who are testing the UAE were mistaken.

UAE’s defence ministry stated that the most recent missile attack had been intercepted at 20:20 and its debris was found in an uninhabited region. It didn’t say whether it was targeting Abu Dhabi or Dubai which hosts a global fair.

The incident occurred while Israel’s President was in Abu Dhabi, where he talked security and bilateral relations to Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

An Israeli official said that Herzog spent the night Abu Dhabi. His visit to Expo 2020 Dubai is scheduled for Monday.

Ned Price, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said that Israel’s President is in the UAE to promote stability and build bridges. However, Houthis are continuing to launch attacks to threaten civilians.” He tweeted.

Under U.S.-brokered pacts known as the “Abraham Accords”, Bahrain and UAE established ties with Israel in 2020.

Gargash was Gargash’s diplomat adviser to the UAE president.

According to the UAE Civil Aviation Authority, all flight operations are as normal in the Gulf Country.

Defense ministry of the UAE stated that coalition warplanes have destroyed missile launchers in Yemen.

Spokesmen for the Houthi military said that they will provide information about a new military operation deep within the UAE.

Saudi Arabia’s coalition has been fighting the Houthis in the UAE for almost seven years. It is considered a proxy war against Iran.

Houthis have launched multiple drone and missile attacks against Saudi Arabia. They have threatened to continue attacking the UAE until it stops “interfering in” Yemen.

Although the UAE has largely abandoned its military presence in Yemen in 2019, it still holds the power through the Yemeni forces that it trains and arms, and recently joined the fight against the Houthis within key energy-producing areas.

Also, in the two most recent weeks of the conflict in Yemen, coalition airstrikes on Houthi areas have been deadly. These strikes have killed thousands and brought Yemen close to starvation.