On Dec. 30, 2025, Saudi Arabian jets bombed southern Yemeni forces at the port city of Mukalla. Saudi officials said they sought to destroy arms that the United Arab Emirates sent to its allies in southern Yemen. Saudi authorities were upset that the Emirati-backed Southern Transitional Council recently consolidated its control over the Hadramawt, never mind that it did so to close off a smuggling route benefiting the Houthis.

The Emiratis had had enough. They entered Yemen alongside Saudi Arabia as the Houthis and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula had overrun the country. The Emiratis and their Yemeni partners defeated al Qaeda and began building a functional state.

What the Saudis lacked in success, they made up for in jealousy. The Emiratis pulled out, allowing the Saudis to take responsibility for everything. Within days, al Qaeda returned to areas the Emiratis evacuated, the power went out, and the most secure regions of Yemen teetered on a return to chaos they had not seen in a decade.

In Washington, diplomats, analysts, and journalists framed the Yemen fiasco as the latest manifestation of the Saudi-Emirati rivalry.........

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