Saudi Arabia and the UAE are edging toward a full-blown diplomatic confrontation.
https://x.com/tequieremos/status/1998043229774897165
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are edging toward a full-blown diplomatic confrontation.
The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) announced it had taken control of Seiyun, one of the largest cities in eastern Hadhramaut, previously held by the Saudi-backed Hadramout Tribes Alliance. And as always, the accusation is predictable: the tribes are aligned with the “Muslim Brotherhood.”
Hadhramaut accounts for nearly a third of Yemen’s territory and contains about 80% of its modest oil reserves. But the real issue is this: the UAE-backed STC is pushing for full independence for South Yemen, while Saudi Arabia seeks a negotiated settlement with the Houthis to preserve Yemen’s unity.
A unified and somewhat stabilized Yemen provides security along the Kingdom’s southern border. The UAE, meanwhile, prefers prolonged fragmentation; a preoccupied Houthi regime is less able to disrupt trade through the Bab al-Mandeb or target the UAE’s genocidal ally, Israel.
Riyadh now recognizes that Abu Dhabi’s ambitions, orientation, and methods run counter to the Gulf’s broader pursuit of stability. The UAE seeks to construct a parallel security architecture with Israel at its core despite Israel did with Qatar. It is willing to support rogue and genocidal actors such as Sudan’s RSF and various such militias across the Middle East and Africa. It can bankroll Islamophobes across Europe under the pretext of countering the “Muslim Brotherhood.”
This explains why MBS, during his recent visit to the US, urged Trump to pressure the UAE to halt its military and economic backing for Sudan’s RSF, which is conducting an ongoing genocide.
And the tensions between KSA and UAE are not new. In 2021, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were on the verge of open conflict when Abu Dhabi refused to comply with OPEC’s agreed production cuts. That crisis was barely defused.
Now, however, the stakes are higher. The UAE’s actions directly threaten the Kingdom’s security.
posted by Satish Sharma at
08:17
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