Bloomberg: Riyadh has started moving to rein in Abu Dhabi’s regional influence
SANAA, Jan. 09 (YPA) – Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have slid into an “open confrontation” as of early January 2026, with rivalry between the two Gulf powers spilling out of diplomatic backchannels and into direct on-the-ground competition over influence in Yemen and control of strategic Red Sea shipping lanes, Bloomberg Agency reported.
According to a detailed Bloomberg report, Riyadh has started moving to rein in Abu Dhabi’s regional influence. A key element of that shift is the decision to bring the Yemen portfolio fully under the control of Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, signaling a decisive move away from political oversight toward a more forceful security and military approach.
Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, recent Saudi airstrikes targeting positions linked to the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Mukalla and Al-Dhalea were not an isolated incident, but a direct military message to the United Arab Emirates that the kingdom’s influence now extends beyond previous alliances.
Bloomberg traces the roots of the escalating tension to Emirati perceptions that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has leveraged his close relationship with US President Donald Trump to marginalize Abu Dhabi in key regional dossiers, most notably Sudan. Those concerns, the report said, prompted the UAE to respond by mobilizing allied forces in southern Yemen in what was seen as a retaliatory move.
Riyadh, meanwhile, has sought to strengthen its regional backing. A visit by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to Cairo on Jan. 5, 2026 resulted in Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announcing full coordination with Saudi Arabia on Yemen and Sudan—deepening the sense of diplomatic isolation facing the UAE.
Emirati political analyst Abdulkhaleq Abdulla summarized Abu Dhabi’s stance by saying that his country would not submit to Saudi dictates, considering the dispute as a struggle over regional power balances and a rejection of what he described as Riyadh’s push for uncontested leadership.
Analysts say Yemen has become a battleground for major power rivalries, centered on control of the ports of Aden, Mukalla and Socotra, as well as the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, as part of a deeper struggle to shape the region’s emerging regional order.
@E.Y.M