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How Gulf security is linked to other global issues

Houthi rebels attacking the UAE and Saudi counter-attacks are vivid evidence of Tehran’s regional influence at an unusually sensitive time. With international tensions mounting over Russian plans for Ukraine and the eighth round of Iranian nuclear talks being held in Vienna there is significant overlap between global issues and Middle East security.
That is the unavoidable conclusion when trying to analyze the connections between the recent Houthi drone and missile strikes on Abu Dhabi and deliberate threats to the UAE’s reputation as an oasis of economic stability and as safe investment location.
The Houthis, an Iranian-backed group that controls Sana’a and northern Yemen, claimed responsibility. While one may question whether the Houthis are a direct proxy of Iran, what is clear is that they get their missiles, drones, training, help in with unmanned aerial vehicles and other weapons from Tehran’s Quds Forces and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Another Iranian-aligned group in Iraq, Kata’ib Hezbollah, praised the Houthi attacks, with its leader, Abu Ali al-Askari, saying: “God was able to strike fear in the hearts of Bin Zayeds by the hands of the mujahideen and brave people of Yemen.”
Since 2015 the Houthis have been fighting a coalition led by Saudi Arabia, and including the UAE, which invaded Yemen to depose them. A week before the missile attack, the Houthis launched a drone attack on Abu Dhabi’s airport and an nearby industrial area. Three South Asian workers are reported to have died as a result.
Had Dubai airport been hit as planned, many civilians, including Americans, could also have been killed. President Joe Biden’s national security advisor reiterated the US position on the “terrorist attack in Abu Dhabi”. Americans were advised not to travel to the UAE after a Houthi spokesman warned that they would attack the site of Dubai Expo, which announced it had welcomed more than 10m visitors in the four months it has been open.
That unprecedented attack triggered a wave of Saudi and Emirati air strikes in Yemen, many of which killed civilians. The deadliest, on January 21st, hit a prison in Saada, a northern city. Médecins Sans Frontières, a medical charity, said at least 82 people were killed.
Tensions have soared in recent weeks after the UAE-backed Giants Brigade drove the Houthis out of Shabwa province, undermining their months-long campaign to take the key city of Marib farther north.
Yemen’s civil war has been a catastrophe for millions of its citizens who have fled their homes, with many close to famine in what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The UN estimates that the war killed 377,000 people by the end of 2021, both directly and indirectly through hunger and disease.
In Baghdad, where several rounds of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia had been held in the past year, speculation about the attacks in the UAE was swirling. Late last year, the head of Emirati intelligence, Tahnoon bin Zayed, visited Iran to try to establish trade ties, after years of boycotting Tehran.
Analysts note rightly that the US must do more to reinforce its sense of determination. Vladimir Putin was able to take advantage of Barack Obama’s reluctance to intervene militarily in Syria, despite his “red line” about Assad’s use of chemical weapons.
Putin, Xi Jinping and Khameini have all obviously noticed the passivity of the Biden administration, painfully visible during last summer’s chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan. European governments haven’t performed any better either.
As is also clear, Israel is trying to take advantage of this alarming escalation with repeated public warnings that it will in no way support the easing of international sanctions against Iran in case the Vienna negotiations fail to deliver a new deal to revive the JCPoA.
“The Iranian regime is weak,” the Israeli premier Naftali Bennett said last week. “If the Americans give Iran access to the money that was frozen, they’ll run into this money in the form of terror attacks in Iraq, in Syria, in the Emirates. This is not the way to behave when dealing with a bully. The Americans have a strong hand, but they are acting as if they have a weak hand. That is the message that we relay to them. Some of them listen.”
The latest Houthi missile attack on the UAE came as Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president was visiting Abu Dhabi to discuss future relations and common strategic interests in the wake of the Abraham Accords.
Dennis Ross, an experienced policy adviser to Bill Clinton, wrote the other day: “Rarely has it been more important for an American administration to show it will stand by a friend in response to an attack that could have resulted in many civilian casualties, including Americans. It is not just our friends who need to see this but those who seem so determined to challenge the United States and our desire to shape an international order. It is essential to counteract the perception of our risk-aversion and demonstrate that their actions are making us more risk-ready. Deterrence demands nothing less.’”
The most recent flare-up is the southern Gulf is a painful reminder that Middle Eastern security is linked by multiple factors to wider global escalations.
BY: IAN BLACK
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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