World
UAE intercepts Houthi missile attack as Israeli president visits
The United Arab Emirates said on Monday it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement as the UAE hosted Israel’s President Isaac Herzog in a first such visit, Reuters reported.
Washington condemned the assault, the third on U.S.-allied UAE within the last two weeks, including a deadly strike on the capital Abu Dhabi on Jan. 17, in an escalation of the Yemen war between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition, read the report.
The Emirati defence ministry said the latest missile attack was intercepted 20 minutes past midnight and that its debris fell on an uninhabited area. It did not say whether it was aimed at Abu Dhabi or Dubai, the region’s business and tourism hub.
It came while Israel’s president was visiting Abu Dhabi where he discussed security and bilateral relations with the UAE’s de facto ruler Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Herzog spent the night in Abu Dhabi, an Israeli official told Reuters. He will continue his UAE visit despite the Houthi attack, his office said.
He is due to visit the Expo 2020 Dubai world fair on Monday.
“While Israel’s president is visiting the UAE to build bridges and promote stability across the region, the Houthis continue to launch attacks that threaten civilians,” U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a tweet.
The UAE, along with Bahrain, signed U.S.-brokered normalisation agreements with Israel, dubbed the “Abraham Accords”, in 2020.
The UAE civil aviation authority said air traffic in the Gulf country, a major international travel hub, was normal and all flights operating as usual, Reuters reported.
The UAE’s defence ministry said coalition warplanes had destroyed missile launchers that were located in Yemen.
Yemen’s Houthi military spokesman said the group would within hours provide details of a new military operation “deep inside” the UAE, Reuters reported.
The UAE is part of the Saudi-led coalition that has been battling the Houthis for nearly seven years in a conflict largely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The Houthis, who have repeatedly launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, have warned they would continue targeting the UAE unless it stopped “interfering” in Yemen.
The UAE had largely ended its military presence on the ground in 2019 but continues to hold sway through Yemeni forces it arms and trains and which recently joined battles against the Houthis in key energy-producing regions.
There were no social media posts on Monday’s interception in the UAE. The public prosecutor has said it summoned several people for sharing videos showing defence systems intercepting a previous Houthi missile attack.
The coalition has also launched deadly air strikes on Houthi-held areas in the past two week in the conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.
World
Trump says United States will get uranium from Iran
One of Trump’s central objectives in launching military strikes against Iran was to ensure Tehran does not develop a nuclear weapon.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States would get enriched uranium from Iran, as the two countries struggle to reach an agreement on ending the Gulf war, Reuters reported.
“We’re going to get it,” Trump told a reporter as he left a White House event.
One of Trump’s central objectives in launching military strikes against Iran was to ensure Tehran does not develop a nuclear weapon. Iran has yet to hand over more than 900 pounds (408 kg) of highly enriched uranium.
World
Trump says Iran “should wave the white flag of surrender”
When asked what Iran would need to do to violate the ceasefire, Trump said: “Well, you’ll find out, because I’ll let you know … They know what not to do.”
President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed Iran’s military capability and said Tehran “should wave the white flag of surrender” but is too proud to do so, Reuters reported.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Iran’s military has been reduced to firing “peashooters” and that Tehran privately wants to make a deal despite its public sabre-rattling.
“They play games, but let me just tell you, they want to make a deal. And who wouldn’t, when your military is totally gone?” he said.
Trump heaped praise on the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports in the region. “It’s like a piece of steel. Nobody’s going to challenge the blockade. And I think it’s working out very well,” he said, read the report.
When asked what Iran would need to do to violate the ceasefire, Trump said: “Well, you’ll find out, because I’ll let you know … They know what not to do.”
Trump said Iran “should save the white flag of surrender.”
“If this were a fight, they’d stop it,” said Trump.
World
Secret Service says it exchanged gunfire with armed suspect near White House
The suspect was not on the White House property, Quinn said.
The U.S. Secret Service said on Monday its officers confronted an armed and “suspicious individual” near the White House who later fired at them before fleeing on foot and being shot by law enforcement, Reuters reported.
The incident led to a brief lockdown at the White House.
Agents patrolling the outer perimeter of the White House complex identified a person who Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said was a “suspicious individual that appeared to have a firearm.”
He briefly fled on foot after being approached by Secret Service officers and fired in their direction, Quinn said at a press conference.
Secret Service then fired at the suspect who was hit and subsequently hospitalized, Quinn added.
Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade transited through the area “not long before” the incident, Quinn said. There was no indication that the suspect intended to approach Vance’s motorcade, the Secret Service deputy director said.
A juvenile bystander was hit by the suspect but did not receive any life-threatening injuries and was being treated at a hospital, Quinn added.
Agents observed “visual print of a firearm” in considering the individual’s behavior as suspicious when he was spotted, Quinn told reporters.
The suspect was not on the White House property, Quinn said.
Law enforcement have been on alert in recent days in the U.S. capital following a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner late last month over which a man has been arrested, read the report.
Quinn was asked if Monday’s incident was linked to “other recent attempts” on President Donald Trump’s life. Trump was in the White House when this incident unfolded.
“Whether or not it was directed to the president or not, I don’t know but we will find out,” Quinn said.
The Secret Service deputy director confirmed that a weapon was recovered from the suspect but did not elaborate.
The Secret Service said earlier its personnel were on the scene of the officer-involved shooting at 15th Street and Independence Avenue in Washington, D.C.
The DC Police Department was handling the probe.
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