Socotra at heart of sudden U.S. movements via Saudi gateway

SANAA, Feb. 05 (YPA) – The sudden appearance on Wednesday of Steven Fagen, the U.S. Ambassador to the Saudi-backed government, has signaled a new phase of hegemony in Yemen—specifically in the Socotra Archipelago, located east of the Gulf of Aden.

This comes amid escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.

In a post on the “X” platform, the U.S. Embassy confirmed that Fagen held a meeting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with the Governor of Socotra, Raafat al-Thaqali.

While the meeting was framed under the guise of “infrastructure development,” it is seen as a transparent cover for Washington’s actual objectives: aligning the island’s local authorities with a unilateral Saudi role that integrates seamlessly with new U.S. and Israeli military orientations in the region.

Strategic Reconfiguration

Ambassador Fagen’s recent movements—following his departure from the U.S. Central Command headquarters at the “Kiryat Gat” base in “Israel”—reflect a new strategy in southern Yemen.

This strategy aims to eliminate the “plurality of tools” by downsizing the UAE’s role and dissolving the “Southern Transitional Council” (STC). It further involves rebranding factions formerly funded by the UAE under a Saudi umbrella to serve U.S.-Israeli agendas and secure their interests, in line with the outcomes of the “Maritime Security Conference” held in Riyadh in mid-September.

This shift follows what is described as the abject failure of the U.S. and UK to secure Zionist navigation in the Red Sea against Yemeni operations supporting Gaza over the past two years.

Militarization of the Islands

In recent months, the U.S.—in coordination with Saudi Arabia and the UAE—has intensified its military activity across Yemeni islands, including Zuqar, Mayon, and Socotra. The Israeli presence on Abd al-Kuri island (part of the Socotra Archipelago), established since 2020, serves as a cornerstone of this plan.

For years, work has been underway to install technical and intelligence equipment on these islands and coastal areas near the Bab al-Mandab strait and the Gulf of Aden, transforming them into advanced bases and centers directed against the Yemeni forces in Sanaa.

Threats to Sovereignty and Regional Security

Riyadh’s emergence at the forefront of the political and military scene in southern Yemen, under direct U.S. instruction, aims to undermine Yemeni sovereignty over its territorial waters.

This positioning turns the Socotra Archipelago and other Yemeni islands into launchpads for hostile operations against Sanaa-based forces, posing a direct threat to regional security and global navigation.

The Role of the “New Proxy”

The U.S. ambassador’s transition directly from Israeli occupation bases to the Yemeni file from the heart of Riyadh clearly confirms that Saudi Arabia is playing the role of the exclusive new implementer and agent for the Zionist-U.S. project in southern Yemen.

This movement is not merely a diplomatic meeting; it is the inauguration of a strategic path aimed at tightening the American grip on strategic Yemeni islands and regions, particularly those rich in natural resources.

YPA