Abu Dhabi: The UAE has clear evidence of Iranian involvement in Yemen and supplies of arms and ammunition to Al Houthi militia which the rebels used on civilians and innocent children, officials from the Armed Forces said here on Tuesday.
The Iranian-manufactured arms, drones, ballistic missiles, land and marine mines were exhibited by UAE Armed Forces and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation at the Armed Forces Officers Club in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
“These dangerous weapons were supplied to Al Houthis by Iran. So far, between 20,000 and 30,000 mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were found by the UAE Armed Forces and were cleared,” an official said.
Dehlavya, an anti-tank guided missile manufactured by Iran in 2015, was found in Yemen which was used by Al Houthis. This is a clear indication of Iran’s support to Al Houthis, he asserted at a press gathering.
The officials demonstrated to media different kinds of weapons — unmanned armed vehicles (UAVs) or drones, sniper rifles and a variety of landmines, devices that the UAE said were used by Al Houthis on civilians in Yemen.
Addressing the media, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said: “We have clear evidence of Iranian involvement in Yemen and supplies of arms and ammunition to Al Houthis which they used on civilians and innocent children.”
Al Houthis fired more than 100 ballistic missiles towards Saudi Arabia, which is a clear evidence that they get support from Iran. We have demonstrated a large amount of weapons found in Yemen, which were used by Al Houthis, the official said.
“Weapons we demonstrated here were also reported to the United Nations Security Council which also examined them and found that they were used by Al Houthis,” he said.
Rebels plant mines in parks and civilian localities of Yemen and target innocents, he said.
Another official from the UAE Armed Forces said, “The main concern is that Al Houthis are getting help from external forces.”
“Based on our analysis, we have captured clear evidence of Iranian involvement and the main support comes to Al Houthis from Iran. Third parties like the USA and other international actors also examined the evidence and confirmed the involvement of Iranian support to Al Houthis,” he said.
“It’s impossible for Al Houthis to avail such kinds of advanced weapons without Iranian experts and supplies of weapons.
“However, we would like to emphasise that we have means to tackle such threats and already we have brought down many of their missiles and drones,” he said.
“The UAE has taken steps to tackle such threats along with our Yemeni allies and trained our forces accordingly to deal with the situation,” he said. “The armed forces has clear guidelines to work closely with the United Nations. We first secured the items and sent them to the forward operating base in Yemen, and then transported them to the UAE.”
Experts of the UN’s panels have been notified about them [weapons secured from the war area], he said.
Seized weapons on show in Abu Dhabi
■ Unmanned armed vehicles (UAVs) or drones
■ Variety of landmines
■ Maritime mines
■ Dehlavya, an anti-tank guided missile, manufactured by Iran in 2015
■ Sniper rifles
■ Anti-tank guided missiles
■ Qasef UAV
■ Rased UAV
■ Hudhud UAV
■ IEDs or improvised explosive devices
