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Saudi Arabia urged to mend UAE ties as Houthis press on Yemen's Bab al-Mandab strait

After a mid-September Houthi advance toward the Bab al-Mandab strait, The Guardian reports pressure on Saudi Arabia to reconcile with the UAE. The Jerusalem Post carries a former Houthi spokesperson's call for US-backed action against the group.

2 outlets · 1L · 0C · 1R First reported Account updated
Image: The Guardian
Image: The Jerusalem Post

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The story, neutrally told

The Guardian reports that Saudi Arabia is being urged to reconcile with the United Arab Emirates as the price of forming a military alliance able to push the Houthis back. Relations fell in January, when Saudi Arabia defeated the UAE-aligned separatist Southern Transitional Council, and the UAE then effectively quit Yemen. In mid-September the Houthis drove to the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait and defeated the National Resistance Forces led by Tareq Saleh; the Jerusalem Post notes the Houthis claimed control of Perim Island in the strait.

The Guardian says Saudi defence minister Prince Khalid bin Salman met UAE vice president Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Riyadh on Tuesday, and that the White House has privately urged both states to bury their differences and form a unified command. Analyst Baraa Shiban is cautious, saying it is unlikely Riyadh would let the UAE back in because of its alignment with the STC. Both articles say Washington has not given Riyadh the help it wants; the Jerusalem Post cites Axios reporting that President Donald Trump has rejected multiple Saudi requests to strike the Houthis.

In the Jerusalem Post interview, Ali Al-Bukhaiti, a Yemeni politician and former Houthi spokesperson, calls the US delay "a grave mistake" and argues Saudi Arabia and allied Yemeni forces could topple Houthi rule if they fought together. Bukhaiti doubts Riyadh has the boldness it had in 2015 and suggests Israel press the US and West to form an international coalition, while the Guardian says Netanyahu reportedly offered Saudi Arabia help but Riyadh would find it near impossible to accept. The Houthis say they are targeting only Saudi-linked shipping, and analyst April Longley Alley says they are demanding a victor's peace.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.

Left1 outlet

Framing
A diplomatic analysis centred on the Saudi-UAE rift and the obstacles to a reconciliation and joint military effort against the Houthis.
Emphasis
Gulf politics, the STC and Giant Brigades, the Abu Dhabi and Riyadh meetings, casualty figures and the Houthi view of Saudi Arabia as a colonial power.
Leaves out or plays down
Says little about Houthi motives linked to Iran or about a possible US-led coalition.
Charged language
“Houthi separatists”
For example
“Saudi Arabia is being urged to reconcile with the United Arab Emirates over Yemen as the price Riyadh must pay to form a military alliance capable of driving the Houthis back.” — The Guardian

Centre0 outlets

No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Right1 outlet

Framing
An interview in which a former Houthi spokesperson argues the West must back Saudi Arabia to confront the Houthis, presented as a strategic warning.
Emphasis
US delay, Iran's influence, Houthi control of the shipping lane and possible Israeli diplomatic support.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention the Saudi-UAE rift or the STC.
Charged language
“grave mistake”“the end of the American imperial era”“adventurist group”
For example
“is a grave mistake that will cost dearly later” — The Jerusalem Post
“They are an adventurist group and will cut shipping at any moment against America and the rest of the world.” — The Jerusalem Post