US-UK arrangement drags Saudi Arabia into Red Sea conflict
SANAA, Jan. 29 (YPA) – The meeting recently hosted in Riyadh under the title “Yemeni Maritime Security Partnership” represents a new link in a gradual escalation led by Saudi Arabia.
Driven by the United States and the United Kingdom, this path seeks to break the “deterrence equation” established by Yemeni operations in the Red Sea during the “Battle of Support for Gaza,” in which Sanaa successfully enforced a total blockade on ships traveling to and from “Israel.”
This trajectory did not begin today; it traces back to September 2025, when Riyadh and London launched the so-called “International Maritime Security Partnership.” Involving several nations, the initiative was framed under the pretext of supporting the Yemeni Coast Guard and enhancing navigational security in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Who Benefits?
A scrutiny of Sanaa’s maritime operations reveals that Saudi Arabia has no genuine interest in forming such alliances, nor does it face a factual threat to its navigational security that justifies this escalating involvement. Before and after the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle, the Red Sea did not witness any indiscriminate targeting or general threats to international trade. Rather, Yemeni operations were specific and transparent, exclusively targeting Israel-linked vessels as part of a strategic leverage to support Gaza and pressure for an end to the aggression.
Consequently, the actual beneficiary of these “partnerships” and maneuvers is neither Saudi Arabia nor regional states, but “Israel” first and foremost. Rebranding these efforts as “protecting navigation” serves merely as a political and security cover to circumvent the strategic shift imposed by Sanaa. This shift has established new rules of engagement that have rendered the maritime security of the Israeli entity an uncertain matter.
Diplomatic Pressure and Local Proxies
Meetings between British and Saudi officials coincide with discussions held by Sagheer bin Aziz—Chief of Staff of the pro-Saudi-led coalition government—with the US and UK ambassadors. These talks, which focused on “Yemeni Maritime Security,” confirm that Washington and London are working to gradually embroil Saudi Arabia in these alliances. The ultimate goal appears to be pushing Riyadh—either directly or through support for local proxies—into a future confrontation with Sanaa, following the failure of Western powers to break the current deterrence equation.
The significance of these moves increases when viewed alongside UN Security Council decisions to terminate the mission of the United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeida Agreement (UNMHA)—a move made at the request of the United States. The weakening or termination of international oversight frameworks can only be interpreted as a proactive step to prepare the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden for a more volatile phase, where conflicts are managed through military and security apparatuses free from international constraints.
Conclusion
The events unfolding in Riyadh are not an endeavor to protect navigation. Instead, they are part of broader arrangements aimed at shielding “Israel” and attempting to dismantle the deterrence established by Sanaa. It is an effort to drag Saudi Arabia back into the square of confrontation with Sanaa under the guise of “maritime protection,” following the failure of the United States, Britain, “Israel”, and their allies to subdue Sanaa during the recent naval battles.
YPA