DID Press: Lebanese analyst Khalil Nasrallah says Saudi Arabia is determined to retain primary oversight of the Yemen file in Riyadh — not Abu Dhabi. The United Arab Emirates’ recent backing of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) to assert control over Hadramawt and Al-Mahra has angered Saudi leaders, while attempts to contain the crisis have thus far failed. According to Nasrallah, external pressure — including the role of Israel — has intensified on Abu Dhabi, leaving Riyadh with one apparent option: to reclaim the initiative.
Within this context, the Saudi air strike on a vessel carrying Emirati weapons from the Port of Fujairah toward southern Yemen was not merely a limited military move; it was widely interpreted as a clear message to Abu Dhabi regarding Riyadh’s red lines in Yemen.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia’s formal diplomatic protest to the UAE — including a request to halt support for the STC and withdraw Emirati forces from Yemen — signals that disagreements have shifted from the battlefield to the diplomatic arena, marking the end of Riyadh’s “tactical tolerance” toward Abu Dhabi’s independent role in southern Yemen.
Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a close adviser to UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, responded by saying that an overt military attack on a port in the Arab South is neither brave nor honorable. He further claimed that the chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council has exceeded his mandate, lacks legitimacy, and that his statements “are worth no more than the trash bin.”