Saudi Arabia Seeks UAE Support As Houthis Threaten Oil Export Corridor

Saudi Arabia is seeking to repair relations with the United Arab Emirates as a Houthi offensive threatens its Red Sea oil export corridor.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received UAE Vice President Mansour bin Zayed in Riyadh on Tuesday.

The meeting marked the clearest public step toward reconciliation after disputes over Yemen, Sudan and Somaliland.

Abu Dhabi subsequently sent officials aboard two Boeing aircraft to Riyadh for coordination on Yemen, two Western officials told Middle East Eye.

“The Houthis are bringing Saudi Arabia and the UAE closer together,” Anna Jacobs, a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, told the outlet.

Oil Routes Under Pressure

The diplomatic opening follows a rapid Houthi advance along Yemen’s Red Sea coast in September.

Saudi Arabia has conducted strikes against the group while facing drone and missile attacks, including an attack on Riyadh airport earlier this month.

An attack also temporarily put the kingdom’s East-West Pipeline out of service.

Saudi Arabia said it originated in Iraq, where Shia militias have coordinated with the Houthis.

Riyadh sought U.S. military assistance against the Houthis earlier this month but was turned down, according to MEE.

A former U.S. official told the outlet that Saudi Arabia could seek Emirati help with air defense.

The official also suggested reconciliation could facilitate cooperation with the Trump administration, which has pressed Gulf partners to resolve their differences.

Emirati Influence in Yemen

Saudi and Emirati officials had spent months discussing cooperation before the Houthi advance accelerated the process.

Abu Dhabi wanted Riyadh to publicly acknowledge an end to the dispute and accommodate Emirati allies in Yemen, a Western official told MEE.

The UAE retains influence over the Southern Transitional Council’s Security Belt Forces, the Giants Brigade and the National Resistance Forces, commanded by Tarik Saleh.

Those relationships could help Riyadh bring competing Yemeni factions into closer alignment. The National Resistance Forces held the southern Red Sea coastline before losing it to the Houthis.

“The UAE can play a significant role even without getting involved militarily by using their influence on the STC and Tarek Saleh. The UAE was the most effective part of the military coalition,” Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at the Baker Institute, told MEE.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE entered the war together in 2015.

Emirati ground forces and UAE-backed Yemeni formations became central to operations against the Houthis, but their partnership fractured over Abu Dhabi’s support for southern separatists.

In December 2025, Saudi Arabia struck Emirati weapons shipments destined for the STC and mounted an offensive against the group.

The UAE announced its withdrawal, and the STC was disbanded in January.

Political Bargains Remain Unsettled

Abu Dhabi now wants political space restored for the STC, a regional diplomat told MEE.

It also wants Saudi Arabia to ban Islah, the Sunni Islamist party represented in Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

Joshua Yaphe, a former State Department intelligence analyst, questioned whether Riyadh would accept those demands.

A cabinet reshuffle offering greater accommodation to the STC could provide a narrower compromise, he said.

Any arrangement would also face rival Saudi and Emirati interests beyond Yemen. The two governments back opposing sides in Sudan, while Somaliland remains another point of contention.

Jacobs said renewed dialogue could ease tensions across the Red Sea, but warned that the underlying rivalry would persist.

“The question is whether this can be sustained at a high level because their competition is structural.”