A Saudi Arabian media campaign targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fall-out in the financial heart of the Middle East.
Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists.
The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report this week.
Photo: AFP
Such invective has been unheard of in the Gulf since Saudi Arabia and the UAE led a more than three-year diplomatic and trade blockade of Qatar over political differences beginning in 2017.
Under normal circumstances, the Gulf monarchies are at pains to project an image of peace and stability, but now longstanding points of friction “are out in the open in an unprecedented way”, Gulf security analyst Anna Jacobs said.
“The mudslinging on social media reminds many of us of the last Gulf rift... Now Riyadh is casting a very bright light on its problems with Abu Dhabi’s regional policies, and is showing no signs of easing up,” Jacobs added.
However, so far Abu Dhabi has largely remained silent, with Emirati professor of political science Abdulkhaleq Abdulla saying the UAE is “not in the habit of provoking our big brother.”
The two neighbours are traditional allies with deeply intertwined economies, and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was considered a mentor to Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the de facto Saudi Arabian ruler.
Commentators in Saudi Arabia accuse the smaller UAE of growing too bold, backing forces at odds with Saudi interests in conflicts including Yemen and Sudan, while also aligning with Israel.
“There is a deep Saudi feeling that the United Arab Emirates has betrayed the strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia and is now stirring up crises within the Saudi strategic sphere of influence,” Saudi political analyst Soliman al-Okaily said.
Speaking on al-Ekhbariya, writer and political researcher Muneef Amash al-Harbi called the UAE’s conduct “an Israeli project wearing a kandura,” referring to the robe worn by Gulf men.
The UAE established ties with Israel in 2020.
Last week, Saudi-backed Yemeni officials showed international media what they said were “secret prisons” run by the defeated UAE-supported separatists.
The UAE denied the claim, saying they were military facilities, but Abu Dhabi has mostly opted not to engage with the broader Saudi attacks.
“We have become, by our own success, a role model ... a regional power. Is this our fault?” Abdulla asked. “We do not want to provoke Saudi Arabia.”
Even so, relations remain precarious.
“With Abu Dhabi inciting against Saudi Arabia, the kingdom will not hesitate to take the necessary steps and measures against it,” an al-Ekhbariya bulletin said last week.
Al-Okaily said a rupture in ties was unlikely, but he said that “Riyadh could take painful economic measures.”
Meanwhile, diplomatic maneuvers are accelerating. Last week, the UAE president met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, agreeing to work toward a strategic defense partnership.
That came after Riyadh signed a defense agreement with India’s nuclear-armed rival, Pakistan.
In Sudan, another bone of contention between the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia and the US handed a new ceasefire proposal to Sudan’s army, a Saudi government source said last week.
The initiative excludes the UAE, which has been part of the multinational push for a truce.
Abu Dhabi has long been accused of supporting the paramilitary force at war with the army, a claim it denies.
This month, Somalia canceled all agreements with the UAE, which backs the breakaway region of Somaliland — recognized as a country by Israel last month. Taiwan also recognizes Somaliland.
Saudi Arabia has reportedly moved to court Somalia.
The Saudis are also building close relations with Qatar — which remains distrustful of the UAE since the blockade — recently signing off on a high-speed rail link.
New America research fellow Adam Baron said despite the “ferocious” public attacks, “there’s still a bit of a ways to go” before a full-blown rupture.
“I think that this simultaneously signals a messaging of potential restraint and capacity for escalation,” Baron added.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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