Was Drone Strike Targeting UAE Meant to Send a Message to South Korean Government?
The Iranians though their Houthi rebel proxies in Yemen may have just sent a message to South Korea with this drone attack in the UAE:
![Korean President Moon Jae-in, center left, attends the opening ceremony of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in Dubai Monday during a visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), accompanied by UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen attacked Abu Dhabi in an apparent drone strike the same day. [BLUE HOUSE]](https://i0.wp.com/koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2022/01/18/8a9c0e34-b48c-44d9-ba10-1b0269abcd32.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
The Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen attacked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in an apparent drone strike Monday that killed three people while President Moon Jae-in was in the country. The Blue House confirmed the safety of the Korean leader.
UAE authorities said that three transport tankers exploded at an oil facility, and another fire broke out at an extension of Abu Dhabi International Airport. Two Indians and one Pakistani were killed at the oil facility, while at least eight people were injured, including two airport employees, according to Abu Dhabi police.
Moon had been visiting the UAE since Saturday, as a part of an eight-day tour of the Middle East, and had been attending an event in Dubai, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) away from the Abu Dhabi airport, at the time of the attack.
Moon expressed to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the de facto ruler of the UAE, “deep condolences and sympathy” for the victims of the suspected drone attack in a 25-minute phone call Monday evening.“We express our serious concern over acts that threaten peace and stability in the Middle East region, including the UAE, and we strongly condemn attacks on civilians and the taking of lives as unacceptable acts of terrorism,” he added.
Joong Ang Ilbo
The two leaders’ summit meeting in Abu Dhabi was unexpectedly canceled shortly before Moon’s arrival in the country, upon the request of the UAE side.
You can read more at the link, but the UAE and South Korea have a close defense relationship which includes a $3.5 billion deal to sell surface to air missiles to the UAE that was signed on Sunday. Those missiles are clearly being bought to protect the UAE from Iranian aggression and this attack is arguably sending a message to the Moon administration that the mullahs in Tehran are unhappy about this.
Here are more Joongang Ilbo and ROKDrop imaginations running wild.
lol.
I don’t think the Iranians and the Houthis give a s*** about Pres. Moon visiting the UAE.
Their gripe is with the mostly Sunni monarchies of the UAE and the KSA which are the largest and most powerful members of the anti-Houthi coalition.
And it just so happens that while the Houthis decided to repeat their infamous drone strikes that Pres. Moon was visiting the UAE.
If the Houthis wanted to show their dissatisfaction with Pres. Moon why not hit Dubai where he is visiting, instead of Abu Dhabi where the main ruling family resides?
So as KM stated it seems some people’s imaginations are running wild.