RIYADH: Saudi Arabia sharply escalated tensions with the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, declaring its national security a “red line” and backing a 24-hour demand for Emirati forces to leave Yemen after a Saudi-led coalition airstrike struck the southern port city of Mukalla. The move marks the most serious public rupture between the two Gulf allies since the Yemen war began nearly a decade ago.
The coalition said the strike targeted unauthorised foreign military support for southern Yemeni separatists backed by the UAE. Shortly afterward, Yemen’s Saudi-supported Presidential Leadership Council chief, Rashad al-Alimi, endorsed the withdrawal demand and urged Abu Dhabi to comply, warning that continued violations threatened Yemen’s sovereignty and regional stability.
At the heart of the dispute is Saudi concern over the growing power of the Southern Transitional Council, a UAE-backed faction seeking autonomy or independence in southern Yemen. While the STC has fought the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, it has also repeatedly clashed with Saudi-backed government forces, exposing deep contradictions within the coalition’s mission.
Mukalla, in Hadramout province, has become the focal point of the crisis. The province borders Saudi Arabia and sits astride key Arabian Sea shipping routes. Riyadh has long opposed any separatist expansion there, viewing instability in Hadramout as a direct threat to its national security. Recent STC advances in the area, which broke years of military stalemate, appear to have triggered the Saudi response.
Tensions escalated further when Al-Alimi cancelled a defence agreement with the UAE and accused Abu Dhabi of deliberately fuelling internal conflict by directing and supporting the STC’s military campaign. In a televised address, he said it had been “definitively confirmed” that the UAE had pressured the group to challenge state authority. The UAE’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The fallout rippled beyond Yemen, unsettling regional markets. Major Gulf stock indexes slipped as investors weighed the risk that Saudi-UAE tensions could spill into broader economic and diplomatic cooperation. Both states are key OPEC members, and analysts warned that prolonged friction could complicate coordination on oil output policy ahead of a virtual OPEC meeting on Sunday.
According to the coalition, the Mukalla strike followed the unauthorised arrival of two vessels from the UAE port of Fujairah over the weekend. The ships allegedly disabled their tracking systems and unloaded weapons and combat vehicles intended for the STC. Saudi state media released footage of a vessel identified as Greenland, which it said transported military equipment from Fujairah to the Yemeni port.
Two sources told WNN that the airstrike hit the dock area where the cargo was unloaded. WNN could not independently verify the nature or origin of the materials. Yemeni state television broadcast footage showing smoke rising from the port and damaged vehicles in the early morning hours.
In response, Al-Alimi imposed a 72-hour no-fly zone and ordered a temporary sea and land blockade on all ports and crossings, allowing exemptions only with coalition approval. The measures, however, immediately exposed divisions within Yemen’s leadership.
Aidarous al-Zubaidi, head of the STC and deputy head of the presidential council, rejected the orders in a joint statement with other council members, insisting the UAE remained a core partner in the Arab Coalition. The statement said no individual had the authority to remove any country from the coalition and described Al-Alimi’s decisions as lacking consensus.
Since 2022, the STC has been part of a Saudi-backed power-sharing arrangement governing southern Yemen, even as it continues to pursue its own political and territorial agenda. The current standoff underscores how the Yemen conflict has evolved from a unified campaign against the Houthis into a contest over influence, territory, and post-war control.
The UAE formally reduced its troop presence in Yemen in 2019 but has retained significant leverage through allied local forces. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has sought to preserve Yemen’s territorial integrity and secure its southern border. Analysts warn that the widening rift risks undermining fragile stabilisation efforts and could inadvertently strengthen the Houthis, who continue to control northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.
Saudi Arabia said it would continue to block any military support to Yemeni factions without coordination with the internationally recognised government, signalling its readiness to enforce red lines even at the cost of straining ties with Abu Dhabi. Whether the standoff leads to de-escalation or a deeper realignment among Gulf powers remains unclear, but the episode highlights how Yemen’s war is increasingly shaped by competing regional agendas rather than a single, cohesive coalition strategy.
-Nayera Elimam
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