WASHINGTON

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call Tuesday with United Arab Emirates Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss Yemen and other regional issues, the State Department said.

The two discussed "the situation in Yemen and broader issues affecting Middle Eastern security and stability," Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a brief readout of the call.

The phone call came after the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen conducted a "limited military operation" targeting a shipment of weapons and combat vehicles linked to the UAE at southern Yemen’s Mukalla port.

The attack came amid rising tensions since the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), Yemen’s main separatist group, captured the eastern provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahra early this month after clashes with government forces.