The deepening rift between the Gulf allies, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, could have been caused by false information from sources in Washington, according to reports. The allies turned on each other in Yemen after the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) seized control of two southern provinces from Saudi-backed forces. Following this, Saudi forces bombed Yemen's port city of Mukalla over a shipment of weapons for the STC.
However, a report by CNN has claimed that the tensions between the countries were the result of false information that it got from its sources, which claimed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) had asked US President Donald Trump during his November White House visit to impose sanctions on the UAE for its alleged support for a warring party in Sudan’s civil war.
Saudi Arabia now believes that it was this false information that prompted Abu Dhabi to mobilise the STC forces in provinces bordering the kingdom, according to a report by CNN. Riyadh had to reach out to Abu Dhabi to explain that it made no such request.
During MBS’s Washington visit in November, Trump had said that he instructed his administration to intervene to solve the conflict in Sudan based on the request from the Crown Prince. The US President said he began working on the Sudan file 30 minutes after his Oval Office meeting with MBS. “[MBS] said, ‘That would be the greatest thing you can do; that would be greater than what you’ve already done,’” Trump said, recalling comments from the Crown Prince.
Interestingly, neither Trump nor MBS made any reference to the UAE at that time.
However, the CNN report said Riyadh is particularly concerned about the UAE’s role in Yemen and in Sudan. Saudi officials worry that instability or state collapse in both country could have serious consequences for its own national security, considering that it shares a border with Yemen while Sudan lies across the Red Sea from the kingdom’s west coast. The Kingdom is also worried about the UAE’s policies in the Horn of Africa and in Syria, where it believes Abu Dhabi has cultivated ties with elements of the Druze community, according to CNN.
