US warship, fighter jets to help defend UAE

DUBAI – The United States will send a warship and fighter jets to help defend the United Arab Emirates, officials said, after a series of missile attacks by Yemeni rebels left three dead in the wealthy Gulf state.

The deployment, to “assist the UAE against the current threat”, follows a phone call between Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the US embassy in the UAE said.

The UAE, part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels and a major financial hub, suffered its third missile attack in consecutive weeks on Monday. As part of the new arrangements, the USS Cole guided missile destroyer will partner with the UAE Navy and make a port call in Abu Dhabi, while the US will also deploy fifth-generation warplanes.

Other actions include “continuing to provide early warning intelligence (and) collaborating on air defence”, the embassy said. The USS Cole, currently in port in Bahrain, was hit by an Al-Qaeda bombing in the Yemeni port of Aden in October 2000 that killed 17 sailors.

Austin and the crown prince “discussed the recent Houthi attacks against the UAE that caused civilian casualties and also threatened US and Emirati armed forces stationed at Al Dhafra air base,” the embassy added. The rebel attacks on the UAE have added a new dimension to Yemen’s seven-year war, which has killed hundreds of thousands directly or indirectly and displaced millions.

Three foreign workers were killed in a drone and missile assault targeting Abu Dhabi’s oil facilities and airport on January 17, triggering a salvo of deadly air strikes in retaliation. On January 24, US forces stationed at Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra air base fired Patriot interceptors and scrambled to bunkers as two ballistic missiles were shot down over the city.

And on Monday, a third missile attack was thwarted during a visit to the UAE by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

The US, a staunch Saudi and UAE ally, intends the deployment to be “a clear signal that the United States stands with the UAE as a long-standing strategic partner”, the embassy said.

President Joe Biden withdrew US support for the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen after taking office early last year, reversing his predecessor’s policy of providing logistical assistance.