Saudi Arabia Loses the First Direct Confrontations with the UAE in Yemen

After nearly seven months of giving Saudi Arabia the space to control its areas of influence in southern and eastern Yemen, the UAE is returning forcefully to sweep away Saudi presence, as if the Saudi military, political, and even financial operations had never happened. So what are the dimensions of the latest escalation between the two allies?

Exclusive – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:

At the beginning of this year, Saudi Arabia executed its largest surprise military campaign against Emirati factions and succeeded within a few days in advancing into Aden, the Transitional Council’s most prominent stronghold. The control of Aden was not the result of military confrontations, although there was some friction there and in most southern and eastern governorates, but rather an extension of Emirati submission to what was known as the Saudi storm, which Abu Dhabi did not expect, according to its experts, including the destruction of dozens of armored vehicles and military vehicles.

The UAE absorbed the Saudi anger by announcing the end of its presence in Yemen and a symbolic withdrawal of forces it claimed were specifically for counter-terrorism, but its factions on the ground remained steadfast, with their leadership restructured through operations rooms in Abu Dhabi and Hargeisa.

Today, after seven months, the UAE is returning to escalate against Saudi Arabia once again, in a step revealing that it has completed the process of restructuring its collapsed factions. This time, the goal is not to regain governorates, but to obstruct Saudi efforts to conclude an agreement that would grant it future influence over southern and eastern Yemen, a strategically important and oil- and gas-rich region that was a target of Emirati ambitions.

Although the UAE’s factions are attempting to frame their escalation against Saudi Arabia as a rights-based cause, the timing indicates that it is part of an escalation program initiated by the Transitional Council on the 7th of this month, which did not conceal its goal of expelling the Saudi occupation. This is a clear indication that the aim is to further subjugate Saudi Arabia to the UAE, especially as the escalation came in the wake of Saudi steps against the UAE, highlighted by blocking electronic payments and disrupting financial transfers.