Saudi-UAE Tensions Over Yemen: Squabble or Breaking Point?

Описание: The Middle East’s geopolitical tides are again shifting. While Riyadh recently described Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as “brotherly countries,” as of late, they have been anything but. On December 30, the two nations nearly came to blows when a Saudi airstrike targeted an alleged Emirati weapons shipment to Yemen's southern separatists who had days before seized a key province bordering the kingdom. The strike led the UAE to accede to a Saudi demand that it withdraw its forces from Yemen. Subsequently, forces loyal to Yemen’s Saudi-backed government launched a successful counter-offensive under cover of Saudi air power to retake most of the territory seized by the separatists.

It is not just in Yemen that the two U.S. partners have been at loggerheads. Across the Red Sea, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh back opposing forces in the Sudanese Civil War and Somalia, while pursuing fiercely competing economic agendas and strategic visions for the Gulf and broader MENA region.

Now, though, the spat is growing, and so are its ripple effects, with major regional powers like Turkey and Egypt aligning more with Riyadh while Israel and Abu Dhabi appear to be drawing closer in outlook. And, while Saudi Arabia and the UAE spent years conducting a joint air campaign against Yemen’s Houthi terrorists, the growing rift could create dangerous new openings for the Houthis and their Iranian sponsors.

JINSA hosted a webinar assessing the latest developments in Yemen, the broader Saudi Arabia-UAE relationship, and potential U.S. policy responses featuring JINSA Randi & Charles Wax Senior Fellow John Hannah, Princeton University Professor of Near Eastern Studies Dr. Bernard Haykel, and former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney.

JINSA Vice President for Policy Blaise Misztal moderated the conversation.