Cruise and ballistic missiles were used alongside drones in Monday's attack on the United Arab Emirates, and several weapons were intercepted, the UAE ambassador to the United States said.

It was the first time the UAE, which rarely discusses its security in public, had said missiles were used in the attack which killed three civilians in Abu Dhabi, and the first time it has claimed to have intercepted some of the weapons.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi group siad it carried out the attack with five ballistic missiles and several drones.

"Several attacks - a combination of cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones - targeted civilian sites in the UAE. Several were intercepted," UAE Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba told an online panel hosted by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA).

Many analysts and UN experts belive Iran is supplying the Houthis with the sophisticated weapons. Yemen is not known for having the technological capabilities needed to develop and manufacture missiles and drones.

In response to the attacks, US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday his administration was considering re-designating the Houthis a terrorist organization. The Biden administration lifted that designation last February; the UAE has called for it to be restored.

The UAE had "long left the Yemen war," Otaiba said. "Attacking a country that is not in combat makes a very clear case" to reinstate the Houthi terrorist designation.

With reporting by Reuters