Saudi Arabia is moving to end the role of the United Arab Emirates in Yemen and diminish its neighbor’s influence in other arenas, including the Red Sea, as tensions rise in the longstanding rivalry between the two Gulf powerhouses.
After [ordering the UAE](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-30/uae-to-withdraw-troops-from-yemen-after-clash-with-saudi-arabia) to withdraw troops from Yemen and bombing a shipment of weapons it said Abu Dhabi was delivering to secessionists, Riyadh is now looking to bring all UAE-backed factions in the deeply divided country under its control, according to two people briefed on the situation. The two OPEC+ members have jockeyed for influence in the war-torn, strategically located nation for years.
Several UAE-linked leaders in Yemen have been summoned to Riyadh to pledge allegiance, the people said. That includes those from the influential Southern Transitional Council, they said, which has been seeking to establish sovereignty in the south of a nation that sits at the crossroads of vital shipping lanes.
The STC a day earlier had accused Saudi Arabia of trying to kill Al-Zubaidi because he refused an order to travel to Riyadh. The Saudi military spokesperson said Al-Zubaidi had been given a 48-hour ultimatum to present himself in the kingdom and that its air force struck a weapons depot belonging to the Yemeni leader.
The Saudi moves tear up an agreement with the UAE to fight against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen that’s stood for more than a decade. It’s also brought the fractious relationship between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the UAE’s president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, into public view.
“This rivalry we all know is longstanding,” said Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East program at the Center for International Strategic Studies in Washington. “What’s new is how this has burst out into the open, how aggressive it has become and that is because we are in the midst of a new order being defined.”
Saudi Arabia, which sees itself as leader of the Arab and Muslim world, has so far spurned mediation attempts by other Gulf states and wants to use the crisis to rein in the UAE’s ambitions elsewhere, according to several individuals with knowledge of the situation. That includes the Horn of Africa and Sudan, where the two back rival sides in a brutal civil war that’s sparked the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, they said.
The Saudis and others in the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE and Qatar, believe Abu Dhabi has pursued its own economic priorities at the expense of the group, the people said. That includes unilateral action in signing a series of free-trade agreements, like the one [being negotiated](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/terminal/T73W5RKIJHA3) with the European Union, they said. Saudi Arabia, in particular, wants more coordination and intelligence sharing, one of the people said.
On Thursday, Trump’s special envoy for Arab affairs, Massad Boulos, [visited Sheikh Mohammed](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/terminal/T8JOARMB2SJQ) in Abu Dhabi to discuss “regional stability,” according to UAE state media.
“This is categorically false,” a UAE government spokesperson said. “Claims linking developments in Yemen to Sudan are inaccurate and completely misleading.”
Standard_Ad7704 on
SS (generated by Bloomberg):
* Saudi Arabia is moving to end the UAE’s role in Yemen and diminish its influence in other areas, including the Red Sea, as tensions rise between the two Gulf powerhouses.
* The Saudis are looking to bring all UAE-backed factions in Yemen under their control, with several UAE-linked leaders summoned to Riyadh to pledge allegiance.
* The fallout between Saudi Arabia and the UAE will have repercussions beyond Yemen, potentially impacting efforts to contain Iran and ensure the Gaza ceasefire endures, as well as affecting companies using Dubai as a hub to conduct business in Saudi Arabia.
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Saudi Arabia is moving to end the role of the United Arab Emirates in Yemen and diminish its neighbor’s influence in other arenas, including the Red Sea, as tensions rise in the longstanding rivalry between the two Gulf powerhouses.
After [ordering the UAE](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-30/uae-to-withdraw-troops-from-yemen-after-clash-with-saudi-arabia) to withdraw troops from Yemen and bombing a shipment of weapons it said Abu Dhabi was delivering to secessionists, Riyadh is now looking to bring all UAE-backed factions in the deeply divided country under its control, according to two people briefed on the situation. The two OPEC+ members have jockeyed for influence in the war-torn, strategically located nation for years.
The fallout between the Arab world’s two biggest economies — and [key American allies](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-14/saudi-prince-mbs-visits-trump-with-tension-over-gaza-chips-nuclear) — will have repercussions far beyond Yemen. It could impact efforts to contain Iran and ensure the Gaza ceasefire endures, as well as hit companies using Dubai as a hub to conduct business in Saudi Arabia.
Several UAE-linked leaders in Yemen have been summoned to Riyadh to pledge allegiance, the people said. That includes those from the influential Southern Transitional Council, they said, which has been seeking to establish sovereignty in the south of a nation that sits at the crossroads of vital shipping lanes.
On Thursday, a Saudi military spokesman [identified](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-08/saudi-arabia-claims-uae-helped-yemen-separatist-leader-flee) a high-ranking UAE officer as leading an operation to extract STC leader Aidarous Al-Zubaidi from the Yemeni port city of Aden to Abu Dhabi. Both the UAE government and an Abu Dhabi-based spokesperson for the STC didn’t immediately comment on the Saudi assertions.
The STC a day earlier had accused Saudi Arabia of trying to kill Al-Zubaidi because he refused an order to travel to Riyadh. The Saudi military spokesperson said Al-Zubaidi had been given a 48-hour ultimatum to present himself in the kingdom and that its air force struck a weapons depot belonging to the Yemeni leader.
The Saudi moves tear up an agreement with the UAE to fight against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen that’s stood for more than a decade. It’s also brought the fractious relationship between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the UAE’s president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, into public view.
“This rivalry we all know is longstanding,” said Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East program at the Center for International Strategic Studies in Washington. “What’s new is how this has burst out into the open, how aggressive it has become and that is because we are in the midst of a new order being defined.”
Saudi Arabia, which sees itself as leader of the Arab and Muslim world, has so far spurned mediation attempts by other Gulf states and wants to use the crisis to rein in the UAE’s ambitions elsewhere, according to several individuals with knowledge of the situation. That includes the Horn of Africa and Sudan, where the two back rival sides in a brutal civil war that’s sparked the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, they said.
The Saudis and others in the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE and Qatar, believe Abu Dhabi has pursued its own economic priorities at the expense of the group, the people said. That includes unilateral action in signing a series of free-trade agreements, like the one [being negotiated](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/terminal/T73W5RKIJHA3) with the European Union, they said. Saudi Arabia, in particular, wants more coordination and intelligence sharing, one of the people said.
The US is watching closely. President Donald Trump has courted both the UAE and Saudi Arabia, visiting Riyadh and Abu Dhabi within six months of taking office, and securing [billions of dollars](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-09/us-approves-several-billion-dollars-of-nvidia-nvda-ai-chip-sales-to-uae) in investment pledges from both. The pair are central to Trump’s vision for a peaceful Middle East propelled by economic development and full integration with Israel.
On Thursday, Trump’s special envoy for Arab affairs, Massad Boulos, [visited Sheikh Mohammed](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/terminal/T8JOARMB2SJQ) in Abu Dhabi to discuss “regional stability,” according to UAE state media.
The Saudis believe the UAE — and specifically Sheikh Mohammed — approved recent advances by the Southern Transitional Council in Yemen as revenge for MBS, as the Saudi crown prince is known, [discussing the UAE’s role in Sudan](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-19/trump-says-us-to-start-working-on-ending-brutal-war-in-sudan) with Trump during a White House visit in November, according to people briefed by Riyadh.
“This is categorically false,” a UAE government spokesperson said. “Claims linking developments in Yemen to Sudan are inaccurate and completely misleading.”
SS (generated by Bloomberg):
* Saudi Arabia is moving to end the UAE’s role in Yemen and diminish its influence in other areas, including the Red Sea, as tensions rise between the two Gulf powerhouses.
* The Saudis are looking to bring all UAE-backed factions in Yemen under their control, with several UAE-linked leaders summoned to Riyadh to pledge allegiance.
* The fallout between Saudi Arabia and the UAE will have repercussions beyond Yemen, potentially impacting efforts to contain Iran and ensure the Gaza ceasefire endures, as well as affecting companies using Dubai as a hub to conduct business in Saudi Arabia.
https://preview.redd.it/y15vii84t6cg1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=24d2a5ef23cac49d5c523bc8704eb0ea05f2f36b