“They are in shock, deep shock. They are not used to being attacked like this,” a senior Israeli security official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, referring to the Jan. 17 drone attack on the Emirates claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. “It was an amazing attack in terms of its daring, but they (the Emiratis) managed to intercept three of the five drones. One of them was supposed to hit the Louvre Museum (in Abu Dhabi) and the other one another strategic target.” Although three people were killed and several fuel tankers were destroyed, the Israeli official said “a heavier disaster was miraculously averted.”
Israel is amazed by the world’s indifference to the unprecedented strike. “Everyone knows who is behind this attack,” a senior government minister told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. “Everybody knows the Houthis could not have carried out such an attack on their own. Everybody knows that the weapons used were Iranian and the order was given by Tehran. And yet the Vienna negotiations are continuing as usual. You see everyone behaving normally, the Iranians are ignoring everyone and their daring is increasing by the day. It is inconceivable.”