Israeli-made missile systems will be of no use to Saudi-led invaders, warns Yemen

“Israeli missile systems will not be of any assistance to the UAE and the countries that have normalized relations with the Zionist regime,” Ali al-Qahoum wrote in a post published on his Twitter page on Monday evening.

He pointed to the growing military prowess of Yemeni armed forces, saying that “Israeli military hardware will not ensure the security of the countries that have forged ties with the regime in case they press ahead with aerial attacks and all-out siege.”

Qahoum said Yemeni forces are capable of reaching out to and striking the depths of invading countries if they continue to bombard Yemen, noting that the retaliatory strikes would be launched irrespective of the extent of Washington’s support for the Saudi-led coalition member states.

Last Thursday, the Yemeni defense minister said the country’s future retaliatory strikes would target areas beyond Saudi Arabia and the UAE, warning the Saudi-led coalition against any new act of aggression against the war-wracked country after a truce was violated.

“We will never hesitate to bombard very sensitive and important facilities, and we will include them in the list of our future targets,” Major General Mohammad al-Atifi said.

“The designated targets will not be constrained to areas within the borders of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and could be situated in regions much beyond these two countries,” he said.

“We once again warn the regional countries which support the coalition of aggression that we will employ surprising tactical and strategic methods during the war,” he added.

The Yemeni defense minister also emphasized that there is no obstacle to employment of homegrown ballistic missiles and combat drones to launch retaliatory strikes against enemies.

Last month, the Reuters news agency, citing two sources speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that Israel had approved a request from the UAE in mid-summer and will provide the Persian Gulf state with the SPYDER system made by Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

As Rafael proclaims, SPYDER offers rapid reaction to a wide range of threats such as drones, cruise missiles, attack aircraft, helicopters and bombers, even from low altitudes.

The Czech Republic and the Philippines are among the countries that have already acquired the missile system, according to The Jerusalem Post newspaper.

The UAE will reportedly use SPYDER primarily against threats from Yemeni armed forces.

Saudi Arabia launched the devastating war on Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with its Arab allies and with arms and logistics support from the US and other Western states.

The objective was to reinstall the Riyadh-friendly regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and crush the popular Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of a functional government in Yemen.

While the Saudi-led coalition has failed to meet any of its objectives, the war has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.