The United States will help the United Arab Emirates replenish interceptors it uses to knock down incoming missiles following a spate of unprecedented attacks by Houthi fighters in Yemen, the US general overseeing Middle East operations said.
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In recent weeks, the Iran-aligned Houthis have waged a string of largely failed strikes on UAE targets that have triggered Emirati and US air defenses and have even seen American troops based there briefly taking shelter.
The latest US move would be in addition to the Pentagon's announcement last week of a deployment of a guided-missile destroyer and advanced US F-22 fighter jets to the UAE. It would also stick closely to defensive support, amid stiff opposition to the war in Yemen among many lawmakers in Congress due to civilian deaths.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and caused a humanitarian crisis.
Although it has long targeted Saudi Arabia, the Houthi movement last month responded to battlefield losses with the unprecedented assaults on UAE, sources say. The conflict is largely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
