UAE condemns attempted Houthi missile attack on Saudi Arabia

The United Arab Emirates has condemned what it described as an attempt by the Houthi group to target several areas in Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles. The statement, issued on 25 October, placed the reported attempt within a wider period of heightened security tensions involving Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the attempted targeting was a flagrant violation of Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and a threat to the country’s security and stability. It said the UAE stood in full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and supported measures intended to safeguard the Kingdom’s security and stability.

The ministry’s announcement was a diplomatic response rather than an operational account of the incident. It did not identify the areas it said had been targeted, specify how many missiles were involved, or give details of any interception, damage or casualties. That distinction matters because the available public accounts describe the incident differently and do not provide a single agreed picture of the intended targets.

Saudi civil defence said that two ballistic missiles had been launched towards Mecca and Medina, and warned people about falling shrapnel after interceptions. The Houthi group rejected the allegation that it had targeted the two cities. It said instead that its targets were three Saudi airports, oil infrastructure and an airbase. The UAE statement referred more generally to several areas in Saudi Arabia and did not name a location.

These accounts are claims from the parties and institutions involved in the conflict, rather than a full independently established account of the attempted strike. The differing descriptions underline the need to separate the UAE’s condemnation from assertions about precise targets or the result of the launches. The UAE statement does not determine which of the locations cited in the other accounts were the intended targets.

The UAE’s response was clear on the diplomatic point it wished to make. By describing the attempt as a breach of Saudi sovereignty, the ministry presented the reported missile launches as a matter of national security as well as regional concern. Its expression of solidarity also signalled support for Saudi Arabia’s stated efforts to protect its territory and population.

At the same time, the wording stopped short of announcing a specific new measure, deployment or joint operation. The ministry said it backed measures aimed at safeguarding Saudi security, but the statement did not set out practical steps to follow from that support. No additional operational detail was included in the public announcement.

The reports emerged alongside other violence in Yemen. Yemen’s Transport Ministry said that Aden International Airport had been targeted with two ballistic missiles, while Yemeni authorities said a coastguard headquarters and another building had also been hit. The Houthi group said it had struck al-Nasr camp and a naval military base in Aden. Those claims concern separate locations and should not be treated as confirmation of the Saudi targets described in the UAE statement.

The wider context remains contested. Saudi authorities described missile launches towards Mecca and Medina, while the Houthis disputed that account and described different objectives. The UAE’s statement does not resolve those conflicting claims. It records Abu Dhabi’s position that an attempt to target areas in Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles was unacceptable and that the Kingdom’s security and stability should be protected.

For now, the most specific confirmed development is the UAE’s formal condemnation and its reaffirmation of solidarity with Saudi Arabia. Further details about the reported launches, including their intended targets and effects, remain subject to the differing accounts made public by the parties involved.