Saudi Arabia turns to UAE 'white horse' as it gears up to battle Yemen's Houthis

Saudi Arabia appears to be mending fences with the UAE in an effort to push back a Houthi military offensive in Yemen that threatens the kingdom’s Red Sea oil export corridor and has seen drones strike Riyadh. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hosted UAE Vice President Mansour bin Zayed in Riyadh on Tuesday, marking the kingdom's most prominent effort yet to reconcile with the UAE after clashing over Sudan, Yemen, and Somaliland. “The Houthis are bringing Saudi Arabia and the UAE closer together,” Anna Jacobs, a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, told Middle East Eye. The two neighbours have been discussing how to collaborate on Yemen for months, western and Arab officials tell MEE, but the talks have been moving slowly. The UAE wanted a public signal from Saudi Arabia that it had put its spat behind it, along with concessions to Abu Dhabi’s allies on the ground in Yemen, the western official told MEE. In July, Saudi Arabia shared a casual photograph of Mansour and Saudi Defence Minister Khaled bin Salman together, but the location and time of the meeting were not disclosed. Read more: Saudi Arabia turns to UAE 'white horse' as it gears up to battle Yemen's Houthis Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) and UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan meet in Riyadh, on 29 September 2026 (Saudi Press Agency/AFP)