The United Arab Emirates has denied a claim by Yemen's Shi'Ite rebels that a rebel missile had been fired toward the country's under-construction nuclear plant.
The rebels, known as Houthis, earlier on Sunday claimed they had launched a missile toward the plant in Abu Dhabi in the first such strike toward the country.
"The National Emergency and Crisis and Disasters Management Authority denies the claim that the Houthis fired a missile toward the country," the UAE's state-run WAM news agency said. "The UAE possesses an air defence system capable of dealing with any threat of any type or kind."
The statement added that the nuclear power plant was well-protected.
The National, a state-aligned newspaper in Abu Dhabi, also reported Barakah's operations were "unaffected on Sunday, while sources on the ground confirmed there were no signs of an attack to the structure."
The newspaper did not elaborate.
The $US20 billion ($A28 billion) Barakah nuclear power plant is in Abu Dhabi's far western desert. The first of its four reactors, being built in the UAE near its border with Saudi Arabia, is scheduled to come online in 2018.
The UAE, like other US Gulf allies in the region, has the Patriot Missile defence system capable of shooting down ballistic missiles and is the only international client to have on delivery the US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system.
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